The spatial and the sensory in school spaces

On Thursday, March 12, 2026, LIRDEF is organizing a study day, with the support of FDE, dedicated to the links between school space and sensory experience.

This meeting aims to examine how the architecture and organization of schools influence learning, social relationships, and student well-being. Far from being limited to material issues (thermal comfort, building quality, or energy performance), school spaces also shape students' daily habits, interactions, and perceptions.

Designed as a structured environment, the school space influences how students inhabit the premises, interact with their environment, and develop their relationship with the world. It thus contributes to the development of their sensitivity, commitment, and capacity for action.

This study day aims to provide a better understanding of how the spatial and sensory dimensions of educational settings contribute to learning and the school environment. It will bring together approaches from different fields—socio-historical, philosophical, and socio-spatial—in order to explore the concrete effects of educational spaces on those who frequent them.

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Program:

Amphitheater H, Faculty of Education

  • 9 a.m. / Opening – Cécile Bourgade, Associate Professor of Visual Arts, University of Montpellier: "Giving meaning to the senses through the school environment: from Bildung to soma-aesthetics."
  • 9:30 a.m., Leïla Frouillou, Associate Professor of Sociology, Paris Nanterre University: "Geography of a space designed for students, appropriated by children: French nursery schools."
  • 10:10 a.m. / Alexis Desplats, architect and doctoral student, ENSA Normandy: "An architect at school between creating community and 'abandoning work'."
  • 10:40 a.m. / Laurent Jeannin, Associate Professor of Education Sciences, Cergy Paris University: "TPA: Proxemic Learning Territory, between dynamics and sensitivity."
  • 11:20 a.m. / Clément Barniaudy, Assistant Professor of Geography, University of Montpellier: "Sensitive cartography, a tool for strengthening education on spatial awareness in schools."
  • 11:50 a.m. / OPJ Cyganek and Julie Poulain, artists: "En creux, a journal of a residency in a school setting."

12:30 p.m. – Lunch break

  • 2 p.m. / Tour by the artists involved in the En creux project at the Colette et Pierre Soulages elementary school, 3 rue de Candolle

Amphitheater H, Faculty of Education

  • 3 p.m. / Sophie Goupil, head of the "Building Schools" program, School Buildings and Ecological Transition Unit of the Ministry of National Education, and David Bergeron, School Buildings Unit of the Montpellier Academy: "Building Schools Program: ministerial guidelines focused on usage"
  • 3:40 p.m. / Julie Chouvel and Anne Verdier, landscape architect and architect, Conseil d’Architecture d’Urbanisme et d’Environnement 34: "Sensitive diagnosis in support of the 'Cour vivante!' initiative."
  • 4:40 p.m. / Discussions and closing remarks by Fabien Groeninger, Associate Professor of History, University of Montpellier