BEMX Opens in Saclay

On December 19, 2023, the Bâtiment d’Enseignements Mutualisés (BEM) was inaugurated at the heart of the Saclay Plateau, southwest of Paris. It’s designed to be a place for users to come together and interact, hosting the educational programs co-produced by Institut Mines-Télécom (IMT), ENSTA Paris, ENSAE Paris, AgroParisTech, Institut d’Optique Graduate School and École Polytechnique, based here since 1976.
Conceived as an extension of the park, the building stands out thanks to its openness to the plateau, extensive transparency, interior greenery, and origami-like overhanging roof.

Atelier Franck Boutté is proud to have contributed to the environmental aspect of this building. In particular, our studio worked on the natural ventilation of the site, integrating automatically opening and closing vents in the facade to ventilate and cool the vast foyer. This acts as a thermal buffer for classrooms, enabling the overall temperature to be managed without the need for air-conditioning systems, with the exception of lecture halls which have specific hygrothermal requirements.