Institut des Sciences Moléculaires d’Orsay - ISMO
Institut des Sciences Moléculaires d’Orsay is a part of Paris-Saclay, an urban campus dedicated to higher education, research and innovation spread over nearly 600 hectares in a natural woodland setting. Nestled in the forest, the compact rectangular volume of ISMO, with its openness towards the environment, gives the users an impression of walking through the landscape.
The ISMO building is a union of two halves, housing theoretical and practical research, architecturally expressed through the difference in façades and light. One area contains advanced scientific instruments and high-tech laboratories, while the other comprises quiet meeting and office spaces.
The laboratories are situated along the north-facing side of the building behind a sleek curtain wall. In contrast, the floorplan has been inverted on the south side, where corridors run immediately behind the facades, and the working spaces are situated around two spacious courtyards that provide natural light. The interior corridors that line three of the façades create a sense of openness and underline the vital link between the architecture and its surroundings. The atrium, hovering above a large, suspended auditorium, creates a grand spatial effect in a cohesive combination with spaciousness and sightlines. Beside the entrance, a library wall stretches over two levels, connected by an enclosed spiral steel staircase, while rectangular balconies project into the space as comfortable settings for conversation and the exchange of ideas.
Info
- Location
- Orsay, FR
- Date
- 2012–2018
- Size
- 10,000 sqm
- Client
- Université Paris Sud
- Team
- Aksel Coruh, Ana Rivero Esteban, Christophe Banderier, Dikkie Scipio, Ismael Planelles Naya, Jan Teunis ten Kate, Joeri Spijkers, Kees Kaan, Koen van Tienen, Marc Coma, Marco Lanna, Paolo Faleschini, Pauline Trochu, Renata Gilio, Sebastian van Damme, Vincent Panhuysen, Walter Hoogerwerf
- Photography
- Fernando Guerra | FG+SG, Sebastian van Damme
- General contractor
- SN Bloch
- Local architect
- FRES architects
- Structural engineer
- EVP Ingénierie
- Acoustics advisor
- Peutz & Associes
- Financial advisor
- Bureau Michel Forgue
- Roads and utilities advisor
- Servicad Ouest IDF
- MEP and sustainability engineer
- INEX
