Sciences Po

Paris, France

Client

SCIENCES PO
Developer: GROUPE SOGELYM DIXENCE
Assistant to the contracting authority: JLL

Project team

Lead Architect: WILMOTTE & ASSOCIÉS ARCHITECTES
Architect of the Innovation Pavilion : MOREAU KUSUNOKI
Program: SASAKI
Chief architect of historical monuments: PIERRE BORTOLUSSI
Landscaper: MUGO
General Contractor: BOUYGUES RÉNOVATION PRIVÉE
Sustainable design & Engineering: FRANCK BOUTTÉ CONSULTANTS
Digital consultant: TO DO TODAY

Surface area

14 000 sq.m floor area

Year

2022

Program

Restructuring of the Artillery site (classified as a historical monument) and creation of the new Sciences Po campus.

The project to renovate the Hôtel de l'Artillerie was prompted by Sciences Po's desire to remain at the heart of the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district, historically an intellectual and artistic centre par excellence. For the students, researchers and professors, it was necessary to give this heritage space a true and unique functionality.

The Hôtel de l’Artillerie, located in the 7th arrondissement, Place Saint-Thomas d’Aquin, is an exceptional heritage site that has undergone numerous transformations. The challenge of this rehabilitation project into a university campus was first to restore historical and functional coherence to the site. After the initial works, the spacious volumes and the original stones reappeared, making way for the rehabilitation project. The missing spaces were found in the ground, as part of the Hôtel de l’Artillerie has been classified as a Historic Monument since 1982.

It was then necessary to create connections between these courtyards separated by a heterogeneous building, but also between this site and that of 13 rue de l’Université, the original site of Sciences Po. The choice not to multiply the materials contributes to the unitary reading of the space, bringing together 4 professional schools and 9 research centres.

You have to know how to adapt to what exists without harming it. Sciences Po had the intelligence to choose this site to set up there, and we can see that it adapts wonderfully to its purpose.

Jean-Michel Wilmotte

Architecte

With the demolition of the building added for military use and the search for space in the basement, the ground floor and the garden level thus created are dedicated to work spaces (classrooms, library, etc.) and student life spaces (cafeteria, event spaces, etc.). 5,000 m² of green spaces extend from the north, where the research centres, the new library, the Maison de Sciences Po and the cafeteria are located, to the south, bringing together the University College, the historic library, the administrative services and the large lecture halls.

The newly designed circulation scheme makes all the different areas of the campus clear and accessible to all towards the heart of the project.

By creating a natural crossing between the two Sciences Po sites, Artillery and 13U, students now benefit from a 22,000 m² space, perfectly integrated into the intellectual district of Saint-Germain-des-Prés.