Institut Mines Télécom
Paris, France · 2019
Photo · Grafton Architects
A precedent for institutional architecture utilizing a rationalist precast concrete grid, deep vertical shading fins, and an open ground floor to negotiate public circulation and solar control.
- What we like about this project
- The upper concrete fins extend past the roofline to form an open-air pergola structure.
Materials
- precast-concrete
- glass
- steel
- aluminum
Visual identifiers
- concrete-fins
- pilotis
- courtyard-facade
- brise-soleil
- structural-grid
Style tags
- rationalist
- monolithic
- contemporary
Visual tags
- institutional
- academic-campus
- monolithic
- rationalist
- shading-device
- open-ground-floor
- Geometry
- A highly structured, orthogonal grid system. The facade is organized into distinct horizontal bands: an open ground level supported by pilotis, a double-height glazed middle band, and a deeply recessed upper level shaded by a rhythmic series of vertical concrete fins.
- Facade system
- Precast concrete post-and-beam frame with integrated vertical sun-shading fins and recessed window-wall glazing.
- Structural guess
- Reinforced concrete frame with precast facade elements and pilotis.
- Spatial scale
- Large-scale institutional building with monumental structural bays and multi-story heights.
- Lighting
- Bright, direct daylight casting sharp, rhythmic shadows within the deep vertical fins and under the cantilevered volumes.
- Atmosphere
- Bright, structured, and monumental, defined by the rhythmic play of light and shadow across concrete surfaces.
- Environmental context
- An institutional campus courtyard under construction, with neighboring academic blocks visible in the background.
- Spatial experience
- The building frames a monumental courtyard. The open ground level creates a continuous public ground plane, drawing the eye through the structure to the landscape beyond, while the deep concrete fins above create a sense of protective enclosure.
- Composition rhythm
- A strict vertical rhythm of concrete fins on the upper level contrasts with the wider, open structural bays of the ground floor.
- Style reading
- Contemporary Rationalism
- Program
- University or research institute
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- precast-concrete, glass, steel, aluminum
- Visual identifiers
- concrete-fins, pilotis, courtyard-facade, brise-soleil, structural-grid
- Style tags
- rationalist, monolithic, contemporary
- Visual tags
- institutional, academic-campus, monolithic, rationalist, shading-device, open-ground-floor
- Geometry
- A highly structured, orthogonal grid system. The facade is organized into distinct horizontal bands: an open ground level supported by pilotis, a double-height glazed middle band, and a deeply recessed upper level shaded by a rhythmic series of vertical concrete fins.
- Facade system
- Precast concrete post-and-beam frame with integrated vertical sun-shading fins and recessed window-wall glazing.
- Structural guess
- Reinforced concrete frame with precast facade elements and pilotis.
- Spatial scale
- Large-scale institutional building with monumental structural bays and multi-story heights.
- Lighting
- Bright, direct daylight casting sharp, rhythmic shadows within the deep vertical fins and under the cantilevered volumes.
- Atmosphere
- Bright, structured, and monumental, defined by the rhythmic play of light and shadow across concrete surfaces.
- Environmental context
- An institutional campus courtyard under construction, with neighboring academic blocks visible in the background.
- Spatial experience
- The building frames a monumental courtyard. The open ground level creates a continuous public ground plane, drawing the eye through the structure to the landscape beyond, while the deep concrete fins above create a sense of protective enclosure.
- Composition rhythm
- A strict vertical rhythm of concrete fins on the upper level contrasts with the wider, open structural bays of the ground floor.
- Style reading
- Contemporary Rationalism
- Program
- University or research institute
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture