OMA: Lab City

Developed in occasion of a competition launched by the École Centrale Paris for the design of a new engineering school, OMA’s project in Saclay, France, integrates urbanism with the school.

Developed in occasion of a competition launched by the École Centrale Paris for the design of a new engineering school, OMA’s design integrates urbanism with the school, supplanting the previous homogeneous experience of the campus.

Img.1 OMA, Lab City CentraleSupélec, Saclay, France, 2017
Img.2 OMA, Lab City CentraleSupélec, Saclay, France, 2017
Img.3 OMA, Lab City CentraleSupélec, Saclay, France, 2017
Img.4 OMA, Lab City CentraleSupélec, Saclay, France, 2017
Img.5 OMA, Lab City CentraleSupélec, Saclay, France, 2017
Img.6 OMA, Lab City CentraleSupélec, Saclay, France, 2017
Img.7 OMA, Lab City CentraleSupélec, Saclay, France, 2017
Img.8 OMA, Lab City CentraleSupélec, Saclay, France, 2017
Img.9 OMA, Lab City CentraleSupélec, Saclay, France, 2017
Img.10 OMA, Lab City CentraleSupélec, Saclay, France, 2017
Img.11 OMA, Lab City CentraleSupélec, Saclay, France, 2017
Img.12 OMA, Lab City CentraleSupélec, Saclay, France, 2017
Img.13 OMA, Lab City CentraleSupélec, Saclay, France, 2017
Img.14 OMA, Lab City CentraleSupélec, Saclay, France, 2017
Img.15 OMA, Lab City CentraleSupélec, Saclay, France, 2017
Img.16 OMA, Lab City CentraleSupélec, Saclay, France, 2017
Img.17 OMA, Lab City CentraleSupélec, Saclay, France, 2017
Img.18 OMA, Lab City CentraleSupélec, Saclay, France, 2017
Img.19 OMA, Lab City CentraleSupélec, Saclay, France, 2017

  The architecture of the Lab City generates an open urban school, with creative disorder framed under a structural skeleton. By creating a main street, cutting diagonally across the Lab City, the design allows a seamless experience between the building and its surroundings, providing a convenient public route between the future heart of the neighbourhood and the future subway station. Around this urban spine, the program is spread in different buildings of various typologies and sizes, organized on an urban grid served by secondary streets.

Img.20 OMA, Lab City CentraleSupélec, Saclay, France, 2017

A unique lightweight roof covering the entire complex completes the scheme by creating a strong link between the different buildings and allowing “external” protected spaces to be used freely all year long. This method provides a stable framework for constantly changing requirements; the program may be reconfigured or intensified as necessary.

Img.21 OMA, Lab City CentraleSupélec, Saclay, France, 2017
Img.22 OMA, Lab City CentraleSupélec, model
Img.23 OMA, Lab City CentraleSupélec, model
Img.24 OMA, Lab City CentraleSupélec, model
OMA, Lab City CentraleSupélec, site plan
OMA, Lab City CentraleSupélec, ground floor
OMA, Lab City CentraleSupélec, first floor
OMA, Lab City CentraleSupélec, second floor
OMA, Lab City CentraleSupélec, third floor
OMA, Lab City CentraleSupélec, fourth floor


Lab City CentraleSupélec, Saclay, France
Program: university campus
Architect: OMA
Partner in Charge: Ellen van Loon, Rem Koolhaas
Design team: ESQ Phase
Project leader: Clément Blanchet, Edouard Pervès
Project team: Fred Awty, Felicity Cardoso, Maria Aller Rey, Gabriella Bandeira, Eugenio Cardoso, Alban Denic, Cristina Martin de Juan, Pedro Pitarch Alonso, Ana Rubin, Saul Smeding, Alicia Casals, Phil Handley, Helena Hiriart, Li Huang, Didzis Jaunzems, Sang Woo Kim, Ida Stople, Pierre-Jean Le Maitre
Design Development Phase
Project leader: Clément Blanchet, Edouard Perveès, Saskia Simon
Project team: Pedro Pitarch Alonso, Anton Anikeev, Tolis Apostolidis, Gabriella Bandeira, Lourdes Carretero Botran, Jonathan Bourhis, Matthieu Boustany, Paloma Bule, Eugenio Cardoso, Alban Denic, Gilles Guyot, Christopher Hayman, Aleksandar Joksimovic, Cristina Martin de Juan, Min Hong Khor, Sangwoo Kim, Lina Kwon, Pierre-Jean Le Maitre, Elida Mosquera Martinez, Ioana Mititelu, Edmondo Occhipinti, John Paul Pacelli, Marcus Parviainen, Maria Aller Rey, Ana Rubin, Kristin Schaefer, Jad Semaan, Timur Shabaev, Saul Smeding, Lingxiao Zhang
Construction Phase
Project leader:
Clément Blanchet, Edouard Pervès
Project team:
Mauro Altana, Joanna Fregnac, Glaucia Hanne, Cristina Martin de Juan, Iris Maass, Pierre-Jean Le Maitre, Vitor Oliveira, Saskia Simon
Landscape: D’Ici Là
Engineers: Bollinge r+ Grohmann, ALTO Ingénierie, Royal Haskoning DHV Consultants: Brian Cody, APEX, DAL, DUCKS, Cuisine et Concept, Polygraphik
Area: 48,700 sqm
Completion: 2017