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
Tags
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.
Featuring an amphitheater, great room (shown here), laboratory classroom and active gardens on the ground floor and rooftop, the expanded Center will more than double the space of the current building, providing unrivaled opportunities for dynamic research and learning.
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. Outdoor green spaces—the central courtyard, rooftop gardens, and shared terraces—cultivate biodiversity and encourage social connection.
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
Awards
Finalist, Future Project Category, World Architecture Festival, 2019 / University of Chicago Center in Paris Project
Related
UChicago News — "UChicago to begin construction on the new Center in Paris in June 2021"
"Designed by Studio Gang, the University of Chicago’s expanded Center in Paris will begin construction in June 2021 to become a state-of-the-art destination for study in a broad range of disciplines."
Journal du Dimanche — "La prestigieuse université de Chicago s'installe à Paris"
Studio Gang selected in international competition to develop new, mixed-use building to house the University of Chicago's Center in Paris.
University of Chicago Center in Paris Design On View at Pavillon de l'Arsenal
March 11, 2019 - May 9, 2019
Pavillon de l'Arsenal
21, Bld Morland, Paris
Competition to Develop Site in Paris’s Rive Gauche Neighborhood Narrowed to Five Teams
The recently announced shortlist includes an international roster of developer-led teams featuring some of the world’s top architecture firms.
