At the heart of the historical centre of Bordeaux University is a series of courtyards that were closed, uninviting and used primarily for the delivery of goods. Paris based practice, Debarre Duplantier Associés were invited to transform the spaces into a landscape that unified the campus and revived its spirit.
As well as providing a charming retreat for students and staff to interact, the scheme brings other facilities such as the café and museum more into the frame, which in turn helps them to animate the spaces. The planting and furniture also bring a human scale to the existing hardscape.
The landscapes have a technical component that in that they provide shade, moderate the acoustic and thermal micro climates and delineate pathways around the campus.
In plan, the architectural hierarchy is reinforced between the open central areas and the more intimate peripheral spaces providing variety to accommodate situations from a quiet tutorial between student and professor, to a full scale celebration or festival.
