chartier dalix transforms a former barracks into a university campus in paris

in the 13th arrondissement of paris, chartier dalix architectes has turned a former barracks into a university campus. originally built in 1875, the military buildings and parade ground are now home to a new program, which includes a 500 seat lecture theater, a generous library and 27 teaching rooms, in addition to offices and services. while bringing an updated use to the site, the project also sought to retain the heritage of the lourcine barracks.

image © sergio grazia (also main image)

when approaching the project, chartier dalix saw it as an opportunity to breathe new life into the area while still holding onto precious remnants from the past. with this in mind, the design retains the parade ground as a central element, yet transforms it into a landscaped forecourt that slopes down to frame the new access to the gallery and lecture theater. the program of the new campus is inserted into the existing buildings, making the most of their spatial qualities, such as the grand ceiling heights and high-quality materials.

image © sergio grazia

the innate character of the former barracks is enhanced by ‘freeing up’ the spaces. this includes the simple application of flocking on the underside of the arches (helping the acoustics and providing fire prevention), as well as the complete absence of false ceilings, thus revealing the technical installations and helping to maintain the existing volumes. a certain brutalism, marked by the exposed pipes and ducts, contrasts with the fine details of the made-to-measure furniture and the nobility of the raw materials, such as steel and solid oak.

image © takuji shimmura

for the interior design of the reading rooms in the library, the architects chose to position the aisles along the façades to allow natural light to freely enter the building and thus free up the view of the succession of windows. a monumental winding staircase marks the entrance to the library at both the garden level and the ground floor up to the first floor. its size makes it a remarkable architectural feature and reveals the volume of the building and the height of a whole section.

image © takuji shimmura

the 500-seat amphitheater, a major feature of the lourcine campus, is installed at the lowest point of the parade ground where the old car park was and along the north / south axis of the site. it is accessed through a gallery entirely covered with self-weathering steel that provides a continuity with the central esplanade. the self-weathering steel, a warm, vibrant and changing material, accompanies visitors throughout all the outside public areas and extends right into the interior. it is a skin that shows the marks of time and embodies the new face of the campus.

image © takuji shimmura

in the forecourt, the gentle and continuous slope aims to reinforce the status of the square as a unifying element of the campus. this is helped by the vertical pattern of trees and merging the esplanade, the surroundings of the buildings and the fire brigade access as a single horizontal element of the landscape. by blurring the edges at ground level, the whole of this horizontal landscape bleeds into a homogeneous horizon that does not interfere with the view of the tops of the plane trees and the existing buildings located around the square.

image © sergio grazia

‘there was great potential on this site for a garden, a place for the students to interact in convivial surroundings. it was also a unique opportunity to recreate a large tree-filled square in the heart of paris to showcase the existing plane trees and add to them to offer a vast, well-planted and green esplanade. the aim was thus to rediscover a landscape, to be able to tell its story, show it off in its best light and make it a high added value space that provides the transition between a place of work and a living area for students, between a built space and an open space.’ dh paysage

image © sergio grazia

image © camille gharbi

image © sergio grazia

image © takuji shimmura

image courtesy of chartier dalix architecture and design

project info:

project name: campus port royal, centre lourcine

location: 1, rue de la glacière, 75013 paris

client: epaurif

architect: chartier dalix architecture and design

program: 500 seat lecture theater, 27 teaching rooms, 2,000 m² library, 1,500 m² offices and 2 service apartments

surface area: 9,710 m²

delivery: june 2019

cost: €22 million

team: egis bâtiment (TCE), elioth (HQE), acoustb (acoustics), dhpaysage, (landscaping), grahal (heritage) BTP consultants (supervising office), CSD faces (fire safety coordination), BECS (health & safety coordination)

general contractor: bouygues bâtiment ile-de france

photography: sergio grazia, takuji shimmura, camille gharbi