Paris Tribune

The University Pierre et Marie Curie, located at the Jussieu Campus in central Paris, has recently opened itself up to private contractors. This raises questions about the potential role of these entrepreneurs. Should the project be introverted? Or should it be an activator for the academic community? How could it become such an activator? How to encourage cross-disciplinary collaborations between departments? How to encourage discussion, debate, and criticism? How to exhibit research? How to be more attractive? How to “put in place” development for the university?

Courtesy Of MVRDV

MVRDV started by looking from a purely pragmatic point of view for the ideal form of the project: a ring of programs organized around a central communal atrium. However, this arrangement provides no added value to the surrounding urban environment, which in this case is the rigid, 1950s Jussieu Campus.

Courtesy Of MVRDV

The atrium block is stretched to fit the site, and sliced to bring light into tight campus. It responds to purely practical, rather than iconic, demands, creating a shifting mass of horizontal lines. There was a strong desire to provide the campus with a gathering place for its scientific community, students and the general public in order to promote the exchanges on all levels. Thus, each level of the south facade gradually shifts in relation to each other creating a succession of promenades and terraces. This truly public space for interaction allows the interior to become a closed atrium, accessible to researchers and students.

Courtesy Of MVRDV

The gesture creates a platform for the campus, a Tribune looking towards the park. Through this form, the roof of the gym becomes a stage or podium suitable for conferences, sports and performing arts, projections (by setting up a giant screen), concerts, meetings, readings and other events.

Courtesy Of MVRDV

This podium, in effect a public space on a scale not built in Paris for centuries, is directly connected via gateways into the building. It also extends to the park, becoming both a new heart for the Modernist Jussieu Campus and a connector to the city outside. The “Tribune” leads one gradually and naturally on the roof terrace of the building where one can enjoy the panoramic view of Paris, including the towers of Notre Dame.

Courtesy Of MVRDV

Project Info
Architects: MVRDV
Location: Paris, France
Client: Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France
Program: 12.000 m2 Laboratories, offices, library, faculty rooms, conference hall, cafe, communal areas
Credits: Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries with
Bertrand Schippan, Sanne van der Burgh, Catherine Drieux, Maxime Enrico, Marco Galasso, Sara Bjelke
Co-Architect: SRA Architectes, Chatillon, FR
Feasability: Iosis Group, Paris, FR
Engineering: Vanguard, Saint Ouen, FR
Year: 2011
Type: Educational
Model: Made by Mistake, Rotterdam, The Netherlands