The jury of the contest organized by the Ile-de-France for the Condorcet Campus Library has selected the architectural project presented by the agency and Elizabeth Christian de Portzamparc. “Structuring the heart of the campus, the Grand equipment Documentary (GED) will become a major focal point of animation in the Condorcet Campus area, its district and the entire city.
The building will offer a consultation space with a capacity of 1432 seats, some logistic spaces including archives and reserves, a forum, a cafe, a bookstore, and some public gardens. Some exhibitions will be open to the public, and work spaces will be available for students and residents. The GED building is made of two asymmetrical volumes, connected by two other above the ground volumes, which are delimiting the large central interior forum.
Placed on the north-south axis, it is becoming a natural meeting point open to a variety of passersby. Mainly made of glass the GED architecture is highly open to the outside and enable the passersby to grasp at once the ground floor services, inviting them to discover the inside of the building. The ubiquitous link between the inside and the outside space offers to the researcher a multitude of outdoor facilities. The inner rooms extended to the outside offers outdoor workspaces, terraces and balconies.
The forum, heart of the equipment, is the first contact between the public and the building and between the interior and exterior spaces. A Great flexibility is provided to embed the future extensions within the newly built surface. Set of oblique light gray slabs and metal balconies penetrate the angle of the building to create a «movement» and lighten the masses.” Source by Elizabeth de Portzamparc.
Elizabeth de Portzamparc wins Library Campus Condorcet competition
