Les Étoiles

Les Étoiles (“The Stars”) in Ivry-sur-Seine, 5km south-east from Paris center, is an enigmatic rising conglomerate of buildings, a mountain range of crystal-like terraces, leafy cascades, cultivated and spontaneous plants, plazas and walkways as articulate as corals. The ensemble is part of the ambitious renovation of the center of Ivry sur Seine that includes 105 hectares started in the 1960s by architect Renée Gailhoustet and joined in the 1970s by Jean Renaudie. The entire urban project launched by the municipality in the late 1950s was overseen by Gailhoustet.

The studio will focus on this large project that refuses a programmatic separation. The entire compound includes an articulate spatial scheme of housing (38% of which is social housing), offices, public and commercial facilities, creating not only a rich and complex urban life but also the ground for a lush vegetation that supports the social and ecological qualities of this place.

The studio is organized around an initial cartographic site exploration during an excursion to Paris (07.04. – 11.04.) with guided visits and survey of the site in Ivry-sur-Seine. The architectural project and program will result from the understanding of this specific site and the question of how to learn from and contribute in a form of experimental “Bauen im Bestand” to the ecology of The Stars of Paris.

Excursion to Paris: 07.04. – 11.04.26

First meeting and introduction:
Thursday, 19.03.26, 10:00 am, room 213