Paris, France
The newest addition to the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris (CIUP), Foundation de Chine by Coldefy and Atelier FCJZ provides housing and study and community rooms for students, drawing on local craftsmanship and inspiration from traditional Chinese architecture.
Located to the south of Paris between Parc Montsouris and the ring road, Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris (CIUP) hosts nearly 12,000 students, researchers, artists and top athletes from around the world.
With the China Foundation, the Cité internationale universitaire de Paris continues the tradition of national pavilions.
Together with the FCJZ studio, Coldefy has designed a building at the crossroads of French and Chinese cultures, in an architecture that reflects the dual sensibility of a firm based in both France and China.
While the building conceptually and formally translates the convergence of the two countries, its facades resolve the complexity inherent in the plot: to the south, the sunshine and maximum visibility from the ring road, to the north, an unobstructed view of the Cité park.
The “Fondation de Chine” offers its future residents three hundred rooms, study rooms and communal foyers, in a building that brings together French and Chinese cultures through a contemporary interpretation free from pastiche.
Its form is a fusion of two traditional typologies: the Chinese tulou and the dense Haussmannian block, built around an intimate inner courtyard and whose perimeter shape follows the surrounding roads.
The China Foundation dialogues with its environment and, like the Haussmann building, is wrapped in vibrant facades.
The transversal apartments open up to both the interior of the residence and the exterior.
The project is located in the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris in the 14th Arrondissement of Paris.
The university city was established to provide housing primarily to international students in Paris in 1925 and has now more than 40 dormitory buildings named after different countries.
It is well known for its remarkable collection of architecture, such as the ‘Collège Néerlandais’ (The Netherlands College,1926) designed by Willem M. Dudok, the ‘Pavilion Suisse’ (The Pavilion of Switzerland, 1930) by Le Corbusier, the ‘Maison du Brésil’ (Home of Brazil,1954) by Lucio Costa and Le Corbusier, and the ‘Pavilion de L’Iran’ (Pavilion of Iran,1969) by Claude Parent.
Project: Foundation de Chine
Architects: Coldefy and Atelier FCJZ
Client: The Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris (CIUP) and Beijing Capital Land
Photographer: Fangfang Tian
