École normale supérieure Paris-Saclay, Research university in Gif-sur-Yvette, France
This higher education institution in Gif-sur-Yvette links four main buildings around a park of more than one hectare across over 64,000 square meters (about 688,900 square feet). Glass facades let light into lecture halls and research rooms.
Since 1912, the school has trained teachers and scientists and later became part of Paris-Saclay University. The move to Gif-sur-Yvette brought modern laboratories and new spaces for humanities.
The name honors the tradition of French elite schools that train teachers and researchers. Students from across the country meet in the central park between the buildings.
The campus sits southwest of Paris near Orsay and is easy to reach by regional trains. Visitors can walk through the park between the buildings and use the open walkways.
Large steel frames without supporting posts carry the roofs and allow walls and rooms to be rearranged. Renzo Piano designed the complex with movable partitions for changing needs.
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