The new 2,400-square-metre Design School (Building F) forms part of iXcampus, a wider higher education campus development in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France. Designed by Paris-based architecture and design studio SAME, the building sits within a 17,800-square-metre extension comprising several new and adapted structures. SAME was also responsible for extensions built on the flat roofs of Buildings A and B, connecting to the existing lower levels through structural links and vertical circulation systems. Baumschlager Eberle Architekten acted as executive architect for the wider campus, including Buildings E and A4, with landscape design by Djao Rakitine Landscape Architecture.
A site shaped by history
Part of France’s history was written in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Once a royal residence before being abandoned in favour of Versailles, the town’s château remains a witness to this past. From the eighteenth century onwards, industries developed along the Seine valley, with textile factories among the first to be established. During the Second Industrial Revolution, large activity zones began to emerge.
By the mid-twentieth century, the project site had been reconfigured from a romantic park into a modernist landscape. Remnants of the town’s royal past, such as the Regard d’Hennemont (1787), sit alongside later additions linked to industrial prosperity and the service-based economy, including the Château Saint-Léger (1886) and the Jean Prouvé building (1952).
Enclosed by a dense wooded edge and largely composed of protected forest areas, the site forms part of the wider landscape of the Forest of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. The campus is bounded to the north by the Paris–Caen axis and to the south by Rue de la Croix de Fer, which leads to its main entrance.
iXcampus
The new buildings are conceived within an overall vision that respects the identity of the park, contributing to the redefinition of the campus. They are arranged in relation to the existing structures, establishing a dialogue in which harmony emerges through the interaction of volumes.
Across the development, the architectural interventions share a common approach: an abstract and recognisable geometry, facades that open onto the wider landscape, and a consistent structural grid. Material choices draw on bio-based resources sourced through local supply chains, while construction favours low-tech principles, prefabrication, and dry assembly methods.
Internally, spaces are organised as open plans, supporting flexibility and adaptation over time. Together, these strategies establish a framework for long-term use and change.
Design School: siting and form
Located at the eastern edge of the site, the Design School holds a clear presence within the surrounding urban context. Set back from the eastern boundary of the plot, it creates a generous public forecourt that marks the main entrance and establishes a transition between the campus and the street.
The building adopts a simple, pared-back volume that responds to the site’s morphology: a flared parallelepiped topped by a concave roof. Its lines establish connections between the city, the park, and the surrounding academic buildings.
Solid stone, selected in relation to nearby historic structures and local quarries, defines the external envelope and anchors the building within its setting. The facades follow a regular two-metre rhythm — corresponding to standard quarry block dimensions — and alternate between solid stone elements and timber-framed openings incorporating glazed units.
A refinement of the stone piers across the elevations reduces the perceived mass of the building while allowing for larger glazed surfaces at upper levels.
A responsive facade
Given the building’s visibility and its multiple orientations, all facades are treated with equal consideration. Form, structure, and envelope are conceived as a coherent whole.
The logic of modularity and layered assembly results in a compact and legible architecture. The depth of the facade generates a play of shadows, in which the timber-framed panels also participate. This variation across different planes captures light and produces shifting perceptions of the building depending on viewpoint, season, and time of day.
A high-performance thermal envelope responds to both internal gains and external environmental conditions. With a total thickness of approximately 80 centimetres, the facade plays a significant role in managing solar exposure, contributing in particular to passive solar protection.
The structure combines timber and stone, with concrete limited to the central core and lateral stability elements. The restrained material palette is expressed through a regular grid, where variations in depth and the alternation between transparency and opacity animate the elevations.
Interior organisation
The structural approach allows the interior layout to remain open, supporting adaptability and reversibility over time. The timber floor structure is expressed and becomes a defining architectural element within the spaces.
The Design School is organised around a post-and-beam system with lightweight partitions that can be easily reconfigured. This enables the building to accommodate changing needs and patterns of use.
At ground level, the building is closely connected to the public realm and the surrounding landscape to the east and south. It contains the main entrance hall, accessed from the forecourt, along with shared and social spaces. The hall extends over two levels, structured around a large void and a spiral staircase that acts as a visual marker and encourages movement through the building.
The upper floors accommodate teaching spaces. Classrooms and work areas are primarily oriented to the south, set back from the noise of the main road. Administrative offices are located to the north, within the narrower portion of the building.
At basement level, an auditorium and computer rooms are arranged around planted light wells, allowing natural light to reach below ground.
Long-term sustainability
The iXcampus development is guided by a commitment to long-term sustainability, shaped by passive design principles, locally sourced materials, and a focus on adaptability. A Life Cycle Assessment conducted by AIA Environnement during the design phase indicates reduced embodied carbon compared to E+C- benchmarks, supported by the use of timber construction, low-carbon concrete, and biogenic carbon storage.
Operational performance aligns with targets set at 10 percent below the French thermal regulation RT2012 baseline, with controlled energy demand, a high-performance envelope, and systems designed to support thermal comfort and efficiency.
The project combines durable construction with a flexible structural approach, enabling changing uses over time, while material selection and sourcing strategies prioritise local supply chains, lifespan, and end-of-life potential.
