From the first designs, the main focus has always been on the project’s compactness to expose the site’s merits. The structure is built on a basement that serves as a foundation for the ESIEE[it] Higher Education School . The slope allows for an additional level at the garden level, while a forecourt gives the main entrance to the structure at ground level.
© Charly Broyez
The ESIEE[it] Higher Education School’s Design Concept
The ground floor houses a portion of the collective program (classrooms and auditoriums) and the full school administration. The repetition of metal ventelles on the façade enhances the project’s compactness, like a monolith, a cut mass shaped by the terraces. The façade ventelles conceal administrative offices and classrooms while boosting the social areas: terrace, atrium, student lobby, and reception hall. © Charly BroyezRather than splintering the skyscraper to lessen its impact, the surrounding Pierre de Coubertin and François Mitterrand roads accentuate its presence and visibility. Given the variety of the program’s surface areas, it seemed fitting to experiment with a tiered layout that would provide users with a variety of shared places, particularly the inner terraces.
© Charly BroyezThe main entrance to the amphitheater is on the garden level, and students use the tiered stairway, which also serves as a living area, to get there. The main staircase connects the various levels. This stairway, designed as a ...