Christine Desmoulins, Christophe Catsaros, Bâtir, L’École normale supérieur Paris-Saclay

The ENS Paris-Saclay, designed by RPBW, is part of France’s most ambitious educational and research hub ever undertaken. It brings together the country’s most advanced scientific research capabilities in one place. From a territorial perspective, the new campus represents a shift in approach, replacing the traditional, single-function, remote campus model with that of a genuine “city of knowledge.” Saclay does for the traditional campus what Delouvrier’s ville nouvelle did for the dormitory town: a qualitative leap, transforming the scale and integrating diverse functions and uses that are typically kept separate. This campus will be a true urban environment, with housing, shops, leisure spaces, and everything that constitutes a city.

ENS is a key element in a vast system that pools resources and facilities within a city dedicated to education and research. Rather than a cluster of isolated buildings, the Saclay campus synergizes its various components. ENS acts as a microcosm of this extensive resource-sharing project, embodying at its scale the principles driving the whole of Saclay: concentration, complementarity, and cross-functionality between different departments and disciplines.

This approach is realized by condensing all labs and lecture halls, previously spread over 12 hectares at the former Cachan site, into just three hectares. Educationally, this concentration is revolutionary, fostering proximity between various laboratories, as well as between research and teaching within a single lab. From an urban planning perspective, it marks a shift in model, transitioning from a functionalist urban layout to a dense, hyper-connected city.