Studio Gang, the international architecture and urban design firm led by Jeanne Gang, has completed its first project in France: the University of Chicago John W. Boyer Center in Paris. Serving as a European hub for scholarship and research in Paris’s 13th arrondissement, the new academic center is described by the architect as "a gracious campus environment" where intellectual work is enlivened with social activity and biodiverse habitat.
The Center, part of a new development in the rapidly transforming Paris Rive Gauche neighborhood in the 13th arrondissement, also includes a mixed-use residential building by the locally-based PARC Architectes. The project builds on the successful existing collaborations between the University of Chicago and Studio Gang, which yielded a significant 40,000-square-meter residential project on the university’s Chicago campus in 2016.
A new vertical campus for Paris
As the cornerstone of this vibrant area in Paris, the Center is designed as a vertical campus. “Its multi-level atrium bathes the space in light and fosters visual connections across different programs,” explains Gang. “Our aim was to enhance social interactions, academic collaborations, and cultural exchanges between the University of Chicago and the city.” Spanning 25,460 square feet (2,365 square meters), the Center is structured around a transparent central atrium that not only facilitates the integration of learning, research, and social spaces but also channels natural light throughout the building.
The facility accommodates nine classrooms, including a specialized laboratory teaching area, and houses a research institute serving as a hub for visiting scholars. The top floor boasts a double-height event space linked to a biodiverse rooftop garden, providing a scenic venue for intellectual discourse through conferences and cultural events. An adaptable amphitheater is also available for lectures and larger gatherings.
Further enhancing its community integration, the Center bridges its academic purpose with public engagement through direct connections to a regional train station and an active street level enhanced by a new art installation by Tony Lewis. The structure itself is designed for minimal impact, perched on a steel platform that elegantly spans over the underlying railway.
Outdoor spaces include the shared courtyard, rooftop garden, loggia, and shared terraces. These are planted with regionally-specific plantings and designed to cultivate biodiversity as well as encourage social connection.
A facade of local stone
The building’s defining feature is a brise soleil facade composed of approximately 900 cylindrical batons. The stone batons function as a filtering screen whose porosity responds to the program within, densifying around private spaces for study and research and opening to reveal activity in public and event spaces.
Each baton is enrobed in Lutetian limestone, a stone that underlies much of the Paris region and has been a common local building material since antiquity. Limestone links the building to the University’s main campus in Chicago, where it is also a prominent building material, while simultaneously rooting it to the history of Paris.
Environmental strategies
A range of environmental strategies help to minimize the project’s carbon footprint and cultivate biodiversity, from outdoor spaces planted with regionally specific species to the use of mass timber for a large portion of the building’s structure. Sourced and fabricated in France and Austria, the timber structure also cuts down on carbon-intensive transport emissions. Similarly, the stone for the façade’s batons were sourced from a quarry only 25 miles (40 kilometers) from the site.
Increased air circulation and natural ventilation are facilitated by the building’s vertical design and abundant outdoor spaces. 2,530 square feet (235 square meters) of photovoltaic panels on the roof generate clean energy on-site and reduce reliance on the energy grid. The building will also be connected to the neighborhood district’s heating and cooling services for improved efficiency.
The campus’ vertical design allows for increased air circulation throughout the building and improves building performance. Exterior spaces at each level improve natural ventilation and occupants’ comfort.
Certifications, labels, and initiatives
The Center is targeting the following certifications and labels in keeping with the Paris Climate Action Plan, a comprehensive strategy designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enhance energy efficiency, and achieve a carbon-neutral footprint by 2050:
-Association pour le développement du bâtiment Bas Carbone (BBCA) - Level Standard
-LEED - Silver
-Well - Silver
-HQE BD 2016 - Level Très Performant)
-BiodiverCity - Base Level
-Biosourcé -Level 2
City initiatives the building is working to meet include ParisPluie, an environmental strategy aimed at managing rainwater sustainably in Paris by increasing permeable surfaces and green areas to reduce urban flooding and improve water quality. Circular economy principles were implemented through the reuse of salvaged granite paving stones installed on the ground floor.
