The Henri Moissan building named one of the world’s most beautiful campuses
On 2 December 2024, the Henri Moissan building at Université Paris-Saclay was awarded the Prix Versailles 2024, in the Exterior category. The Prix Versailles is one of the world’s most prestigious awards for architecture and design.
The Henri Moissan building at Université Paris-Saclay has been awarded the Prix Versailles in the Exterior category for the quality of its architecture during an award ceremony held at the UNESCO headquarters on 2 December 2024.
The Henri Moissan site regroups the Faculty of Pharmacy (previously located at Châtenay-Malabry), the Orsay Institute for Molecular Chemistry and Materials (ICCMO - Univ. Paris-Saclay/CNRS), auditoriums, and spaces for teaching and practical work for the Faculty of Science’s Biology and Chemistry Master’s students. In total, some 3,300 students and 1,000 researchers, lecturers and admin staff moved to the site in September 2023.
With a total surface area of 74,000 m², the site’s central space, the Coeur de Pôle, and teaching spaces were designed by Bernard Tschumi (BTuA agency), while the research areas were designed by the agency, Groupe-6. Made up of several interlinking buildings, the building possesses an impressive façade overlooking the grand avenue of the Moulon neighbourhood and facing the future Grand Paris Express metro line 18.
The building is modern and in compliance with the most recent standards, particularly in regard to sustainable development and energy savings. Located at the heart of the Moulon neighbourhood, the Henri Moissan site benefits from an ideal location to strengthen the cohesion between the university’s members on the plateau de Saclay, including the Orsay Faculty of Science, the Orsay IUT, Polytech Paris-Saclay, the grandes écoles CentraleSupélec and ENS Paris-Saclay and the LUMEN.
Announced each year at UNESCO since 2015, the Prix Versailles is a series of architectural competitions which shine a light on the finest contemporary projects worldwide. At the intersection between multiple disciplines, the members of the Prix Versailles World Jury are tasked with awarding twenty-four world titles from among the selected sites in the categories of Airports, Campuses, Passenger Stations, Sports, Museums, Emporiums, Hotels and Restaurants. The official list – which pays tribute to innovation, creativity, reflections of local heritage, ecological efficiency and the values of social interaction and participation, which the United Nations holds in high regard – is in line with the principles of intelligent sustainability, taking the projects’ ecological, social and cultural impacts into consideration.
