The University of Chicago John W. Boyer Center in Paris Project will create a new hub for scholarship and cultural exchange in Paris’ rapidly-developing 13th arrondissement. The full development, comprising an academic center for the University of Chicago and a mixed-use residential building, will bring vitality to its neighborhood with biodiverse green spaces and an architecture that weaves the block—both physically and intellectually—into the fabric of the city.
University spaces are organized into a vertical campus whose classrooms wrap around a central, daylit interior that culminates in a biodiverse roof garden. A visual and material interplay between the buildings evoke the warp and weft of a textile. Lush outdoor green spaces atop and between the structures provide places for socializing, study, and rest as well as habitat for urban wildlife.
In alignment with the ambitious environmental standards of the City of Paris and SEMAPA, the design minimizes carbon footprint while optimizing energy performance. Its combination of active and passive strategies includes the use of locally-sourced and sustainably-harvested materials.
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