University of Montpellier Village of Sciences / BPA ARCHITECTURE

University of Montpellier Village of Sciences / BPA ARCHITECTURE

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Text description provided by the architects. Stemming from the Campus Plan – an exceptional funding mechanism created in 2008 to redevelop and modernize the buildings of French universities – the project consists of two buildings housing most of the teaching premises of the University of Montpellier 2.

The large-scale operation is divided into two volumes, one dedicated to shared rooms and the other to the bio-ecology center of the UFR des Sciences and replaces 5 existing buildings today considered obsolete and unsuitable for ‘education. The current morphology of the project stems from a demanding context: on the one hand, the imposed location and footprint, and on the other hand, the desire to remain faithful to René Egger’s initial master plan, conditions which sometimes turn out to be contradictory.

The chosen volumetry therefore aims to preserve the open character imagined by Egger while enclosing on the plan what was to be an open garden. The main volume is therefore raised from the ground, and it frames the longitudinal entrance hall giving access to the amphitheatres. From the outside, transparency is chosen as the guiding language, accompanied by the reflective metal skin of the fire escape. The main volume therefore seems to float.

From the inside, the double-height loggia opens out to what has become the courtyard. The choice to exaggerate its scale both in height and in depth joins the main objective of preserving the original open character and therefore of extending the working environment towards the outside and more precisely towards the garden which is restored to the public.

Framing the square, the two poles are complementary and unified by identical materials, designing contemporary, timeless and Mediterranean architectures. Due to the strategic position of the two buildings, the project challenges the scale of the campus and the neighborhood in terms of the presence and image of the University in the city and the gateway to the campus. With its redefined entrance which affirms transparencies and offers perspectives of interior and collective life, the campus presents itself as an institution in tune with the times, dynamic, serious and open.