University of Chicago John W. Boyer Center in Paris

The building is organized around a transparent central stair (the “vertical campus”) that connects all of the Boyer Center’s major spaces and brings natural light deep into the interior. Learning, working, and social spaces are strategically arranged around this central circulation zone, encouraging interaction among academic departments and users. A variety of outdoor green spaces, including a biodiverse rooftop garden, provide students, faculty, and guests with easy access to nature and fresh air.

Cylindrical stone batons form a brise-soleil façade that shades the building and lends it a sense of lightness. Constructed with regionally quarried Lutetian limestone, the “Paris stone” that gives much of the city its unique color, this material helps harmonize the Boyer Center with its surroundings as well as reduces its carbon footprint.

The Boyer Center’s massing and architecture were conceived in close relationship with the neighboring residential buildings designed by Parc Architectes. The structures work together to direct sun, views, and circulation across the full-block site, and to support regionally specific vegetation that welcomes people as well as urban wildlife.

Timber is used throughout the Boyer Center from the wood façade panels to the mass timber structure, reducing its embodied carbon footprint. Sourced and fabricated in France and Austria, the timber structure also cuts down on carbon-intensive transport emissions. Together with photovoltaic panels, rainwater reuse, abundant natural ventilation, and outdoor green space, the design unites sustainability and beauty to create an unrivaled center of scholarship in the growing neighborhood and a lively model for Paris’ future.