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Lise Meitner square: the square was never meant to exist
Lise Meitner square: the square was never meant to exist
Ivry-sur-Seine, France
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Other Projects by STAR strategies + architecture
Lise Meitner square: the square was never meant to exist
Ivry-sur-Seine, France
STATUS
Built
YEAR
2025
SIZE
25,000 sqft - 100,000 sqft
BUDGET
$100K - 500K
Lise Meitner Square is a 2,600m² public space at the heart of the START-Ivry housing project in Ivry-sur-Seine, Greater-Paris, home to nearly 300 households. Paradoxically, the square was never meant to exist. Its site was originally designated as a fenced, impermeable, and inaccessible maintenance zone required to protect two 1,500-metre-deep geothermal wells supplying heating to a large part of the city. Left as planned, this central space would have been an asphalted technical void, compromising the quality of life of the inhabitants. Through sustained discussions with the geothermal operator, developer, and municipality, this constraint was transformed into a civic value: a fully open public square.
Geothermal energy is a major environmental asset, but when its installations sit within the city, they must be well integrated rather than producing exclusionary voids. The square’s design treats infrastructure not as something to hide, but as its defining identity. The geothermal safety perimeter is traced by an orange asphalt oval, making the energy system visible and legible. At its centre, three ground markings introduce social, pedagogical, and poetic layers: a Super-Zebra emphasising its pedestrian character, a Mini-Masterplan reproducing the five residential buildings at scale, and a Quote by Françoise Héritier. Four paths structure movement while three circular zones support sports, fitness, and café-terraces.
Designed under strict technical constraints, the square relies on robust, low-maintenance surfaces and removable furniture, ensuring safety while allowing flexible everyday use. Fixed planting was limited, but future mid-height vegetation will enhance comfort, biodiversity, and seasonal change.
Lise Meitner Square exemplifies a new form of urban reindustrialisation, where energy infrastructure and public life coexist. What would have been asphalt became a shared space—an unplanned, yet enduring gift to residents and to the whole city.
Geothermal energy is a major environmental asset, but when its installations sit within the city, they must be well integrated rather than producing exclusionary voids. The square’s design treats infrastructure not as something to hide, but as its defining identity. The geothermal safety perimeter is traced by an orange asphalt oval, making the energy system visible and legible. At its centre, three ground markings introduce social, pedagogical, and poetic layers: a Super-Zebra emphasising its pedestrian character, a Mini-Masterplan reproducing the five residential buildings at scale, and a Quote by Françoise Héritier. Four paths structure movement while three circular zones support sports, fitness, and café-terraces.
Designed under strict technical constraints, the square relies on robust, low-maintenance surfaces and removable furniture, ensuring safety while allowing flexible everyday use. Fixed planting was limited, but future mid-height vegetation will enhance comfort, biodiversity, and seasonal change.
Lise Meitner Square exemplifies a new form of urban reindustrialisation, where energy infrastructure and public life coexist. What would have been asphalt became a shared space—an unplanned, yet enduring gift to residents and to the whole city.
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