University of Chicago Center in Paris Project

The academic building’s vertically-articulated stone façade selectively opens and closes, revealing public activities while densifying around more private spaces for study and research.

Location
Paris, France

Status
In Design

Client
SEMAPA with ICADE and the University of Chicago

In Collaboration with
PARC Architectes

Type
Educational, Mixed-Use Residential

Size
Greater than 9400 m2 / 101,000 sf

Sustainability
Targeting carbon neutrality

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The Center in Paris Project will create a new hub for scholarship and cultural exchange in Paris’ rapidly-developing 13th arrondissement. Comprising an academic center for the University of Chicago and a mixed-use residential building, the project will bring vitality to its neighborhood with biodiverse green spaces and an architecture that weaves the block—both physically and intellectually—into the fabric of the city.

To support a lively dialogue between the University and greater communities, spaces shared with the public are strategically located and connected to the outdoors to invite mixing. University spaces are organized into a vertical campus whose classrooms wrap around a central, daylit interior that culminates in a biodiverse roof garden. Public art as well as a visual and material interplay between the buildings evoke the warp and weft of a textile. Lush outdoor green spaces atop and between the structures provide places for socializing, study, and rest as well as habitat for urban wildlife.

In alignment with the ambitious environmental standards of the City of Paris and SEMAPA, the design minimizes carbon footprint while optimizing energy performance. Its combination of active and passive strategies includes the use of locally-sourced and sustainably-harvested materials.

The central staircase of the academic building acts like a vertical campus quadrangle, connecting spaces both physically and visually.

Outdoor green spaces—the central courtyard, rooftop gardens, and shared terraces—cultivate biodiversity and encourage social connection.

To promote a lively exchange between Parisians and University students and faculty, the academic, public, and residential programs are strategically located in relation to one another and connected to outdoor green spaces and RER transit.

The design's environmental strategies minimize carbon footprint and optimize energy performance.

PARC Architectes, Associate Architect

ICADE, Owner & Developer

SEMAPA, Owner

University of Chicago, Owner

Egis Group, Structural, HVAC, and Envelope Engineer

Elioth, Sustainability Consultant

AVLS, Acoustic Consultant

CSD-FACES, Fire Security Consultant

OLM Paysagistes, Landscape Architect

AVEC Investissement, Retail Consultant

Janet Echelman, Art Installation