This vast complex, one of the largest university construction sites in France, is a major scientific project for Paris-Sud University and the future Paris-Saclay University. Handover is scheduled for April 2022, following 12 months of development studies and 36 months of works. The competition lasted two and a half years, with precise client requests including a complex program and tight cost-control and energy-saving requirements.
One of the largest university commissions in France just went to Bernard Tschumi Architectes. The joint competition team, led by Bouygues Construction and also including architects Groupe-6 and BE, will be awarded the €283 million design-build contract for design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the new Biology–Pharmacy–Chemistry Center at the Université Paris-Sud in Saclay, a suburb of Paris.

A gateway to Paris-Saclay Located north of the Le Moulon plateau, next to the future Orsay-Gif station on the Grand Paris Express, the centre will be the new gateway into the Le Moulon joint development zone and the Paris-Saclay campus. The “METRO Center” will form part of the biology, pharmacy and chemistry wing of the university, comprising six buildings connected by flying bridges, featuring teaching facilities, research labs, offices, restaurants, and logistics areas.

The winning entry emerged victoriously after a more than two-year-long competition process that  included Bouygues Construction and also roposals by Herzog and de Meuron with Vinci Construction, and MVRDV with Eiffage.
 

Description of project by Bernard Tschumi Architectes

This public-private partnership, or PPP, resulted from a competition process involving three of Europe’s largest construction firms and associated architectural teams: Bernard Tschumi et al with Bouygues Construction, Herzog and de Meuron with Vinci Construction, and MVRDV with Eiffage. The competition lasted two and a half years, with precise client requests including a complex program and tight cost-control and energy-saving requirements.

The architectural concept of the METRO site, coordinated by Bernard Tschumi Architects, consists of a chain of six separate but interlinked buildings that act as an interior street, a common denominator, and a social space for the whole complex, joining together three different scientific disciplines.

Facing north, a fully glazed building opens onto the main axis of the site and acts as the heart of the complex. It includes social spaces and auditoria, a small museum, administration, and applied research facilities. To the east are research laboratories; to the west lie teaching facilities and the southern access-point of the site.

All facades opening to the north and all connecting bridges are fully glazed, while the south, east, and west facades are made of high-quality white precast-concrete panels with fins.

The scale of the different parts of the complex varies depending on their functions and their locations on the site. For example, the glazed facades on the main campus axis are 25 meters high (approximately 82 feet) and incorporate six levels, but the volumes located near small existing constructions have been designed with three levels each.

The project was developed simultaneously in both of Bernard Tschumi’s offices: BTA in New York (Joel Rutten, co-director) and BTuA in Paris (Véronique Descharrières, partner and co-director). Groupe-6 was charged with the interior organization of the research component, a major part of the complex.

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Architects
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Consortium led by Bouygues Construction. Architects.- Bernard Tschumi urbanistes Architectes (BTuA: Bernard Tschumi, Véronique Descharrières) and Bernard Tschumi Architects (BTA New York: Bernard Tschumi, Joel Rutten)
Groupe-6 for the research spaces of the METRO site
Baumschlager Eberle (BE) for the IDEEV site.
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Client
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University Paris-Sud / Paris Saclay
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Dates
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Preliminary Design.- 2015; Competition Winner.- 2018; Completion.- 2022
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Area
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Surface area.- 88,000 m² (1,000,000 sq. ft.) for the whole site including 74,000 m² (800,000 sq. ft. ) for the Metro site and 14,000 m² (160,000 sq. ft.) for the IDEEV site.
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Budget
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Construction costs.- € 283 M
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Programme
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Education, Public Buildings, Master Plan
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Bernard Tschumi was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, on January 25, 1944. He holds dual nationality, inherited from his French mother and his father, the renowned Swiss architect Jean Tschumi. He studied architecture at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich. His early years were spent moving between Zurich and Paris, where he experienced the May 1968 protests firsthand.

After completing his studies that same year, he began teaching at the Architectural Association in London, then led by Albin Boyarsky, a pivotal figure in shaping the critical approach to architectural education and practice that Tschumi would later implement. This period placed him in an environment where he interacted with a generation of outstanding architects.

He later taught at prestigious institutions such as Princeton University and The Cooper Union in New York. Between 1988 and 2003, he served as dean of the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation at Columbia University, leaving an indelible mark on the education of architects and the intellectual discourse of the discipline. He continues to teach at Columbia today.

His theoretical work, writings, and both conceptual and built projects have been fundamental in redefining the relationship between architecture and theory. He explores the interplay between space, movement, and events as dynamic forces that shape spatial relationships and urban experiences.

Tschumi is widely recognized for his influential books, including The Manhattan Transcripts—a project developed through four exhibitions between New York and London—first published in 1978 and reissued in 1994 following an exhibition at MoMA. Another key publication, Architecture and Disjunction, further develops his interest in an architecture that transcends mere form and function, engaging instead with spatial dynamics, narrative structures, and urban events, ultimately redefining the concept of place.

His early theoretical ideas were materialized in one of his most iconic projects: Parc de la Villette in Paris. After winning the competition in 1982, the project evolved over the following years with the construction of multiple folies, culminating in 1998. Here, Tschumi developed his concept of spatial relationships within an architectural landscape that activates the interaction between individuals, space, and the city.

Tschumi is the founder and director of Bernard Tschumi Architects, with offices in New York and Paris. Beyond his work at La Villette, his most notable projects include the Acropolis Museum in Athens, the Le Fresnoy Contemporary Arts Center in France, and the Vacheron-Constantin headquarters in Geneva. His architecture consistently explores spatial fragmentation and sensory experience, challenging conventional notions of architectural composition.

His work has been recognized with prestigious accolades, including the Grand Prix National d’Architecture in France (1996), multiple awards from the American Institute of Architects, and the National Endowment for the Arts. He is an international member of the Royal Institute of British Architects in England and the Collège International de Philosophie in France. Additionally, he has been honored as an Officer of both the Légion d’Honneur and the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Tschumi’s work has been exhibited in major museums and biennials worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Venice Architecture Biennale, the Netherlands Architecture Institute in Rotterdam, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

His legacy continues to shape architectural practice and thought on a global scale.

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Published on: April 26, 2018
Cite: "Bernard Tschumi Team wins Competition for A new centre of excellence in Biology-Pharmacy-Chemistry for Paris-Sud University" METALOCUS. Accessed
<https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/bernard-tschumi-team-wins-competition-a-new-centre-excellence-biology-pharmacy-chemistry-paris-sud-university> ISSN 1139-6415
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