The new residence building by Baumschlager Eberle Architekten is located in a prominently occupied environ- ment. The student city Cité internationale universitaire de Paris was founded as an international community after World War 1. It boasts buildings by the co-inventor of modernism Le Corbusier, the Dutch master of architectural proportions Willem Marinus Dudok and Claude Parent, the partner of the architectural philosopher Paul Virilio.

The Maison des étudiants de la francophonie sets out to offer its residents a spatial framework that makes comfort and beauty an essential part of their everyday experience. A challenge it rose to from day one thanks to its location within the wider urban context for Baumschlager Eberle Architekten (lead architect) and Sam Architectes (associa- ted architects). Marking the transition from Paris’s noisy Boulevard Périphérique to the quieter park-like atmosphere of the Rue du Professeur Hyacinthe Vincent, the site was chosen to offer its students maximum peace and quiet. The use of concrete with its insulating properties as the primary building material further mitigates acoustic inputs.

1. Further information and an overview of the images freely available to the press can be found in the PDF download