A tribute to the famous 11th-century Persian scholar
The Fondation Avicenne was designed by the architect Claude Parent and the engineer André Bloc, in association with the Iranian architects Hedar Ghiai and Mossem Foroughi. In the context of Iran’s international opening and privileged cultural exchanges with France, this country wanted to build a house with 100 rooms for Iranian students. This house, initially known as the Maison de l’Iran, was transferred to the Cité internationale and renamed as he Fondation Avicenne, in honour of the great 11th-century Persian physician and philosopher. For more than 40 years, it was the last houses to be constructed at the Cité internationale universitaire de Paris.
A reference point for 20th-century metal architecture
An avant-garde building in terms of its radical approach, it contributed to the reputation of Claude Parent, who became a member of the Académie des beaux-arts in 2005. It is one of the rare examples in France of a building suspended from a macrostructure. The building is based on a macrostructure consisting of three porticos made of welded sheet metal caissons, each around thirty-eight metres high. The suspended secondary framework forms the framework for the two four-storey residential blocks, separated by a recessed storey reserved for the director’s accommodation.
The west facade and the two blind gables form a screen against noise pollution from the ring road. Only the façade, entirely glazed, benefits from natural light. A second independent building, tucked under the first, houses the common services. Lifts provide a transition between the two buildings. The architectural aesthetic stems from the contrast between the black structural elements and the recessed white façades. As the only staircase in the house has been rejected to the outside, it becomes monumental, forming a double inverted spiral. Designed as a sculpture, the steel staircase makes the building perfectly identifiable from the ring road.
Iconic, it is one of the most emblematic buildings of the early 1970s. Because of its avant-garde architecture, since 2008 the Fondation Avicenne is included in its entirety on the list of Historic Monuments, along with its footprint and its landscape composition limited by pathways. It thus joins the list of protected houses in the Cité internationale.
A complete rehabilitation after 14 years of closure
Since 2007, the Fondation Avicenne had been closed because it could no longer accommodate any students due to its dilapidated state. At the end of 2019, renovation work was able to get under way and the building began its transformation. The renovation, supported by the Cité internationale and led by the Beguin & Macchini agency, was financed by the Régie immobilière de la ville de Paris (RIVP) and the City of Paris, with support from the Recovery plan and the DRAC Île-de-France. The rehabilitation that lasted 3 years focused on a virtually identical renovation, albeit with some changes required by new regulations and changing usage patterns. The aim wass to combine student comfort, respect for the building’s heritage and optimisation of its intrinsic qualities.
An exemplary renovation of protected heritage in terms of energy transition
The work involved refurbishing the building in keeping with the spirit of Claude Parent’s work, in consultation with a board of experts including the architect of the Bâtiments de France and historians of contemporary architecture, bringing it up to safety standards and improving its acoustic and thermal performance. As a result, 111 new homes have been created on the campus.
For the architects from Beguin & Macchini, the challenge was to comply with the Climate Plan while respecting the original aesthetic. The 111 individual rooms, each around twenty square metres in size, are spread over eight floors. Comfort has been improved by integrating a kitchenette and a shower room in each room, after doing away with communal kitchens, showers and toilets. Thermal and acoustic insulation has also been optimised. The facades, which have been restored to their original condition, are now highly insulating, and the installation of double-flow ventilation has improved air quality and energy efficiency.
After 14 years of closure, the rehabilitated Fondation Avicenne has become an exemplary case in terms of the energy transition of protected heritage.
