History Of The School

The EPAU was designed by Oscar Niemeyer.

In 1968, Oscar Niemeyer’s team proposed the idea of creating a school of architecture in Algiers. The project aimed to create a large workshop, along with an administrative block for the director, as well as three auditoriums dedicated to teaching, practical work, and lectures.

For the construction of this school, Oscar Niemeyer drew inspiration from the CEPLAN project in Brasilia. He opted for a simple and economical approach, incorporating interior courtyards that fostered both communication and privacy. This approach provided an environment conducive to teaching and learning.

Establishment of the School

The Polytechnic School of Architecture and Urbanism was thus created in accordance with Ordinance No. 70-67 of October 14, 1970, which separated architectural training from that of Fine Arts.

Thanks to its experience, the School was transformed into a non-university school under the name “National Higher School of Architecture”.

The First Extension by Jean-Jacques Deluz
In the 1980s, to accommodate the steadily increasing number of students, architect and professor Jean-Jacques Deluz was commissioned to design the extension for the School of Architecture.
Deluz brought a fresh vision to the extension; his approach maximized the use of space while meeting the students’ needs. He successfully created a spatial arrangement that offered a different perspective on the slender, fluid volumes designed by the Brazilian architect, yet one that ensured coherence and visual harmony with the original project.

The Second Extension by BEREG
In 1999, the first presentation of the project for the school’s second extension, entrusted to the state-run engineering firm BEREG, took place at the EPAU (École Polytechnique d’Aix-Marseille University).

In 2004, after several delays, construction began.

This involved the building of the Construction Materials Laboratory (TMC) and the development of the central space connecting Oscar Niemeyer’s original design with the first extension by Deluz.

In 2006, construction began on the new administrative building, also designed by BEREG.

Currently, the EPAU is established in accordance with the standard statute of a higher school according to Executive Decree No. 16-176 of June 14, 2016. Since Decision No. 58 of November 8, 2016, issued by the Ministry of Mujahideen, the school operates under the statute of “higher schools” and is named after the Mujahid Hocine Ait Ahmed.