Ésad Delays Move to Port Colbert

The École supérieure d’art et de design de Reims will not move into its new Port Colbert building in September as originally planned, according to a report published September 3 by *L’Hebdo du Vendredi*. Céline Savoye, director of the public institution, said the school was informed in June that the move would be pushed back because the building still required final work. The delay shifts the start of the academic year by five to six weeks after an August relocation and a September 3 return had been scheduled. A ceremonial opening in the new building is still planned for September 11, with the physical move now due to begin October 5 and full occupancy scheduled for November 2. ### Why is the move no longer happening in early September? September 3 had been the planned start date for students in the new building, but the school said the site is not yet fully finished. Savoye told *L’Hebdo du Vendredi* that the delay was a “coup dur” because the move had been organized for August, adding that the project is “an exceptional building” requiring particular finishing work. (lhebdoduvendredi.com) June was when the school says it learned the schedule would slip. The article did not specify which finishing items remain incomplete, but it said the new building’s works were “not yet totally achevés,” or not yet fully completed. ### What happens to students and staff in the meantime? (lhebdoduvendredi.com) The school expects 261 students and 60 teachers, technical staff and administrative employees for the coming year, *L’Hebdo du Vendredi* reported. Until the move is completed, the delay means the start of activities tied to the new site will be pushed back along with the academic calendar. (lhebdoduvendredi.com) ÉSAD is currently split between two Reims sites, according to the school’s own materials: the Cathédrale site, used for administration, main workshops and design students, and the Franchet d’Esperey annex, which houses first-year students, art students, amateur practice courses and the art-and-design incubator. The school has said the Port Colbert project is meant to replace that fragmented arrangement with a single building. (lhebdoduvendredi.com) ### What is this new Port Colbert building supposed to change? Port Colbert is part of a broader redevelopment zone in northwest Reims led by the city and Grand Reims on former industrial land near the canal. The municipality says the area is being remade into a district focused on youth, housing, public space and education, with the first renovated buildings and public areas targeted for the 2026 school year. (esad-reims.fr) The new ÉSAD building is one of the flagship projects in that plan. Grand Reims previously described it as a landmark designed by architect Jean-Pierre Lott, while the school’s press dossier said the project would raise future capacity to 285 students from a current level of 225. *L’Hebdo du Vendredi* reported that Grand Reims, the French state, the regional authority and private funders together invested 42 million euros in the building. (reims.fr) ### How long has the move been in preparation? July 2 was when *L’Hebdo du Vendredi* reported on ÉSAD’s final exhibition before the move, describing the school as preparing to leave its longtime address at 12 rue Libergier, where it has been based since 1962. That report said about 250 students were then expected to start the new academic year in September at Port Colbert. (grandreims.fr) January 11 was when the same publication wrote that Port Colbert would welcome both ÉSAD and Neoma Business School for the September 2026 term. The school’s website also states that the relocation to Port Colbert is scheduled for 2026, placing the postponement within a longer-running move rather than a change of destination. (lhebdoduvendredi.com) ### What are the next dates to watch? September 11 remains the date for a formal opening in the new building, even though teaching there will not yet be fully underway, according to Savoye. October 5 is the new start date for moving the Cathédrale and Franchet d’Esperey sites, and the transfer is expected to take two weeks. November 2 is the date the school says all students should be installed in the Port Colbert premises. (lhebdoduvendredi.com) (lhebdoduvendredi.com)