The new residence of the Maison de l’Inde opened its doors in November 2013. Designed by Intégral Lipsky+Rollet architectes, this 72-room house increases the Maison de l’Inde’s welcome capacity and inaugurates the campus’s Cité 2025 development programme. The foundation stone was laid in June 2013 in the presence of His Excellency Arun K.Singh, Ambassador of India in France, Ranjan Mathai, Secretary of foreign affairs for the Indian government, François Weil, Rector of the Académie and Chancellor of the universities of Paris and Marcel Pochard, President of the Fondation nationale Cité internationale universitaire de Paris.
This new house testifies to India’s renewed commitment to the Cité’s work and to the ideals of universality and pursuit of peace that it encompasses.
Within the framework of academic and scientific cooperation between France and India, the Indian government financed up to 6.8 million euros for the construction of a new house to welcome Indian students and researchers on campus. The house adjoins the historic Maison de l’Inde which was inaugurated in 1968 and was built on a plot of land that was graciously made available to the Indian government by the Chancellery of the universities of Paris. This extension was the first construction at the Cité internationale in 42 years. Before the Maison de l’Inde, only the Maison des Arts et Métiers had benefitted from an extension of this size, welcoming a second house 11 years after the first.
The new residence is located to the east of the Maison de l’Inde’s first building. It has its own access, reception hall and conference hall and can also function independently. Each of its seven floors has a communal kitchen that guarantees social interactions between the residents. The rooms, all equipped with their own shower and sanitary facilities, have individual loggias. Equipped with furniture designed by the architects, they are naturally lit by a large bay window that is positioned just above the desk and has several built-in storage spaces. In each kitchen, there is a reference to India in the Warli paintings, each of which depicts an Indian legend. A meeting room, dedicated to A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, a scientist and former President of India, is adorned with portraits of renowned Indian researchers.
The architectural project, in accordance with City of Paris’s and the Cité internationale’s urban rules, respects the other buildings nearby as well as the original Maison de l’Inde. The house is designed in an L-shape and is located in the north of the land. It shares a patio with the original building and visually interacts with that of the Maison du Brésil. The created patio is open towards the south in order to offer as much natural light as possible to the living spaces and to the desks. The new house frees up the ground and is located in a garden, a green oasis. In contrast to the closed and more public north façade, the east, west and south façades are mostly open towards the sun and landscape.
The house is heated by radiators whose supply comes from a classic heating system that is connected to the CPCU (compagnie parisienne de chauffage urbain) system. The sanitary hot water is produced by this CPCU substation and the 20 m² of thermal solar panels that are on the roof.
Since its creation, the Maison de l’Inde has played an important role in the diffusion of Indian culture. Every year it offers a rich programme, punctuated with traditional celebrations, such as the Autumn Festival (Durga Puja) which spans four days, the Festival of Lights (Diwali), International Students’ Day (Saraswati Puja), International Children’s day.
The house spans 7 floors in premade wooden modules. In all, 410m3 of Austrian spruce were used. This structure has several advantages: quiet on-site assembly, reduced thickness of isolation and good fire resistance.
The Warli legends have so many tales that allow us to perpetuate the relationships that man has with nature and that joins humans together, according to which rules of conduct appear.
The house spans 7 floors in premade wooden modules. In all, 410m3 of Austrian spruce were used. This structure has several advantages: quiet on-site assembly, reduced thickness of isolation and good fire resistance.
The rooms are some of the largest on campus: 19 m² for the individual rooms and almost 25 m² for the double rooms. Every room has a balcony that is protected from the sun by a canopy integrated into the façades.
The house was awarded the Trophée Bois Île-de-France in 2014 for its innovative wooden architecture. In 2013 it was the first wooden building in France of this height.
The architects Florence Lipsky and Pascal Rollet proposed to give the project an artistic dimension concerning Indian culture. They appealed to Hervé Perdriolle, a specialist in contemporary Indian tribal art and, in particular, Warli paintings in order to adorn the communal kitchens with vast murals. This mission was entrusted to two artists, Sadashiv and Kishore Mashe who depicted a different legend on each floor, using themes dear to Warli tribes.
The Maison de l’Inde has 104 rooms, 1 studio and an apartment for senior researchers as well as a festival hall. This extension increases its welcome capacity with 66 individual rooms and 6 double rooms.
Want to visit the Maison de l’Inde? Guided tours allow you to discover this exceptional heritage.