Encore Heureux Architects wins the competition to design the new FMSH building at Campus Condorcet

The Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme is proud to announce that the architectural design by Encore Heureux Architects has been selected to shape its future building on the Condorcet Campus.

This new building, which will house the FMSH and EHESS teams from 2030, represents the final piece of a campus conceived in 2008 to provide the humanities and social sciences with an excellent research and training environment.

Construction will begin in 2028. The building, with a floor area of approximately 18,000 m², will accommodate 2,700 students and researchers, as well as 1,825 members of staff.

The architectural proposal

The project submitted by the Encore Heureux Architectes consortium stood out for the quality of its architectural vision, which meets the objectives of the project: to house the FMSH headquarters, bring together the various EHESS entities on campus, provide optimal working and teaching conditions, create shared spaces for student life, and offer high-quality landscaped areas.

The building's simple and adaptable geometric form, organised around a central garden, offers spatial modularity and long-term flexibility of use.

It will include a 200-seat auditorium, 23 teaching rooms, an 80-seat forum, a student living space, a staff restaurant and a cafeteria open to all, complete with coworking areas, audio and video studios, as well as offices and meeting rooms designed to accommodate around 1,000 workstations.

A project with high environmental standards

In compliance with RE 2020 environmental regulations, the project adopts environmentally friendly and sustainable architectural solutions designed with the comfort of future users in mind. It will benefit from Bâtiments Durables Franciliens (Silver level) certification.

The building's design prioritises passive systems to ensure optimal user comfort: natural ventilation, adjustable sunshades, reused slatted screens, appropriate solar protection and accessible green roofs. The winning team is also focusing on bio-based and sustainable materials – timber-framed façades filled with wood wool and raw earth bricks – as well as open-ground green spaces, which help regulate temperatures across the building and its surroundings.

The continued commitment of the Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme

Building on a long tradition of support for the humanities and social sciences, the FMSH will begin a new chapter in its history in 2030 on the Condorcet Campus. True to the vision of its founders, Fernand Braudel and Clemens Heller, it remains committed to cooperation, interdisciplinarity and international openness.

After transferring its reference document collection to the Humathèque, the Foundation will soon be developing its activities within this world-class scientific hub, alongside the institutions already established in Aubervilliers.

About Encore Heureux Architectes

Encore Heureux Architectes is an architectural practice of 32 staff members, led by Nicola Delon, Sébastien Eymard and Sonia Vu. The firm explores the idea of generalist architecture and works on a wide range of spatial, social and urban issues. It has delivered several cultural and innovation facilities for public, private and associative clients, where user needs and comfort are central considerations. Its projects integrate principles of material reuse and encourage civic engagement through flexible programming of spaces and uses.