Linkcity Ile-de-France was chosen to develop this operation, which is believed to be the largest student housing development currently under construction in France. This social housing programme with 25,000 m² of floor space is intended to take its first intake of students at the start of the 2017-18 academic year. They will be students at the University of Paris-Saclay, mostly belonging to the higher education institutions already established there (or in the process of being established), such as CentraleSupélec, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan and the University of  Paris-Sud.

The winning team from the design competition, LAN and Clément Vergély Architectes, in association with the landscape architect Topotek, devised a project consisting of eight buildings: three peripheral buildings housing the majority of the accommodation and five cylindrical buildings in the heart of the complex. This urban approach allows the creation of a landscaped park that will be accessible to the general public and which will feature the images of the Greek Muses on the facades of the cylindrical buildings (thanks to an innovative technique of photoengraving on concrete).

A very significant part of the project is the common living spaces and shared apartments, in line with the specifications of the “Living On Campus” charter published for the Paris-Saclay campus.

The legal structure of the project is a 70-year construction lease between four social landlords in joint ownership and the Ecole Centrale Paris Foundation, which purchased the land will recover full ownership of all the buildings after 70 years. The student residence will be administered by CESAL, which currently manages the Ecole CentraleSupélec’s student residences in Gif-sur-Yvette.

Proposing an innovative student housing offer adapted to the diversity of students is an essential element which will contribute to the attractiveness of the Paris-Saclay campus. SerendicCity thus illustrates the Paris-Saclay Public Development Agency’s desire to create an iconic campus, open to the local community and to society.