
This is why the renovation of its roof required by the Architects of the Buildings of France an identical reproduction of its flat tiles dating back half a century. Committed to faithfully respecting the territorial specificities of the roofs of France and to protecting its historical cultural heritage, EDILIANS, with its PLATE 16×38 Doyet terracotta tiles and its flexible AERO 2 DBA under-roof screen, was naturally selected by the Archipat architectural firm for this project to restore the 2.400 m2 of roofing of the Saint-Just high school.
A building transformed over the centuries…
Before becoming the current establishment, the Saint-Just high school served as a hospital during the First World War and houses under its esplanade a Gallo-Roman cistern of more than 450 m3 called “Grotte Bérelle” which supplied the aqueduct canals of the city, in particular the thermal baths located nearby. The best preserved vestige of the ancient city of Lugdunum (Lyon), it has been listed as a historical monument since 1862.
Bought by the city on the 20thnd century to transform it into a public high school, the building has undergone multiple modifications over time. Among them, elevations in certain wings to increase the reception capacity or one-off work on the roofs which have a wide variety of materials (mechanical tile, scale tile, zinc, etc.) making the building rather heterogeneous.
Upon his arrival at the head of the Auvergne Rhône Alpes region, the President of the Council established an inventory and then launched a massive investment plan to renovate, build and secure its many schools. Included in the framework of his Marshall Plan 2 covering the period 2022-2030, it aims, among other things, to modernize and maintain existing high schools in order to improve the quality of life of students and national education staff. The budget set at 3,2 billion contributes to the renovation of the historic roof of the Saint-Just high school to the tune of 2,8 million.
…and a heritage that must be preserved without fail
At the origin of the project, the Auvergne Rhône Alpes region was considering an expansion of the Saint-Just high school, by extension or elevation. Due to the strong constraints imposed by the Architects of the Buildings of France on this historic site and the listed wooded area nearby, it gave up and favored the preservation of this monument with, as a priority, the renovation of 2.400 m2 roof.
Entrusted to the Archipat agency, which specializes in heritage enhancement, this involves restoring identically the two-sided roofs of five pavilions as well as those of two turrets of the high school to bring a certain architectural coherence to the whole. Among the various samples received from industrialists, the PLATE 16×38 Doyet terracotta tiles from EDILIANS were selected for their timeless rounded tortoiseshell shape and their patinated red tint which perfectly respected the aesthetics and color of the original tiles.
For Eric Lebeau, National Director of Prescription at EDILIANS: « A choice validated by the Architects of Buildings of France, as well as the ridge that we specially created to measure. The whole thing also harmonizes wonderfully with existing roof sections made with our LOSANGÉE Ste Foy tiles. »
An exceptional restoration right down to the implementation of the tiles
Built on a site occupied by 1.200 students, the accessibility of the frames located up to 30 meters high was the other major challenge of this project to renovate the roof of the Saint-Just high school. 2.400 m2, this represents 100.000 tiles or 258 pallets, the weight of which was far too great to be lifted and moved so high by light cranes, not to mention the risk of overloading the scaffolding. " says Eric Lebeau.
At the request of the co-contracting roofing companies Beaufils and Vaganay, managed by the company Le Ny, all qualified Qualibat Monuments Historiques, EDILIANS was once again able to listen to its customers and adapt by designing half pallets of tiles.
Thus, for 12 months, 12 to 15 craftsmen implemented in complete safety and in accordance with the rules of the art, the flexible AERO 2 DBA under-roof screen with reinforced airtightness covered by the 2.400 m2 of PLATE 16×38 Doyet tiles as well as 100 m2 of natural zinc elements at the singular points (skylight cladding, frames, connections).
Completed at the beginning of September, the restoration of the historic roof of the Saint-Just high school has already fully satisfied the Auvergne Rhône Alpes region: “ We are proud that this renovation, carried out by local companies with terracotta tiles from a local manufacturer, has been so successful and that a Lyon high school with such a rich history can regain its former glory. " concludes Mickaël Paccaud, Regional Councilor delegated to educational excellence.