The Descartes cluster, the largest campus in Europe for the city of tomorrow, soon to be linked to the Grand Paris Express, is also the most prospective urban research area for the city's stakeholders. Among the many university buildings already present (ENSIEE Engineering & Management, Ecole des Ponts ParisTech, Institut Français d'Urbanisme...) this student residence operation promoted by the Centre Régional des Oeuvres Universitaires et Scolaires is one of the student service programmes that are taken over outside research hours.
The design is informed by a broader consideration of this context.
Part of a large and fast-paced puzzle, the building is designed to be flexible to adapt to future living styles.
Built on a structural principle of posts-beams wood-concrete, it can be adapted in the long term to the needs of the campus.
Organized around a central patio with open walkways, the architecture is based on the principles of the Guise family of architect Jean-Baptiste André Godin.
Neighbourhood relations between students can be initiated in a warm and fluid wooded interior space.
Generous outdoor terraces, most of which face south, extend the rooms with "more space".
The thick facades, designed by the revealed logic of the wooden structure, give a warm feeling of interiority.