An educational complex in France has become a showcase for an increasingly popular prefabricated building technique. Work began in May 2024 on the €80 million (CDN$125 million) 14,500 m2 school facility in the City of Sartrouville, northwest of Paris. Final project delivery is scheduled for November 2026. …From the outset, the objective was to create a facility with a reduced carbon footprint in order to achieve what in France is called Level 3 “Bâtiment biosourcé” (Biosourced Building). This requires certain minimum percentages of bio-based material per square metre of floor area. The designers took a unique approach to material selection, opting for 7,000 m² of load-bearing exterior wall panels made of wood-concrete, representing 75 per cent of the flat exterior surfaces. Wood-concrete is made from a mixture of water and wood aggregates, sourced mainly from PEFC-certified French forest operators, which is then combined with cement.