The new PAPS facility for the University of Strasbourg is to be realized on the site of a historic hospital. The proposal is radically open up the site and to make it accessible for University personnel, students and public alike. By lifting the main volume off the ground, an open and inviting relationship is created which visually and physically links the surrounding streets with the previously inaccessible internal gardens.

The surface of the main arrival level slopes both upwards to the raised volume and downwards to a sunken library. These slopes are used as auditoria, generous vertical connections, reading rooms and informal meeting places. At the center of the building, a full height atrium with a removable soft roof brings natural light into the heart of the classrooms and offices.