ENS, Paris-Saclay

The ENS Paris-Saclay campus project consisted of four buildings surrounded by grounds spread over more than one hectare.

The mix of uses was at the heart of the ENS program. It was an important lever for building a multidisciplinary school intersected by the arts and design, one which also reflects its active research and scientific dimension. The campus is traversed by diverse audiences, from campus users to local residents. Consultations carried out with ENS students and staff informed the outline of the spaces, both in technical terms and in terms of the uses they could accommodate and the conditions of their future operation.

In addition, the whole project was founded on the premise that structural appearance was secondary to functionality and usage, not to mention the importance of achieving high environmental performance. The project team therefore designed the bioclimatic architecture based on criteria including thermal sustainability, natural ventilation, exterior solar panels, and rainwater storage. The designs were guided by an iterative method spanning from the general to the specific, starting with the environment and climate right down to the building systems. It was thanks to this interdisciplinary approach that all available resources (air, earth, water, sun) were harnessed to reduce the building’s need for systems and to offer optimal comfort to occupants. This approach also yielded the most suitable solutions to meet the energy requirements (Max PEF 30%) and High Environmental Quality certification.