Linkcity launches Serendicity, a one-of-a-kind student housing complex in Paris-Saclay

Linkcity launches Serendicity, a one-of-a-kind student housing complex in Paris-Saclay

9:00 pm UTC February 16, 2016  Feb 16, 2016  | by: Bouygues UK  | Civil engineering 

(Photo by: Bouygues UK)

At the Paris-Saclay campus, Linkcity is developing the biggest student housing project currently under way in France.

At the Paris-Saclay campus, Linkcity is developing the biggest student housing project currently under way in France.

A one-of-a-kind student housing project

The Serendicity housing complex will help meet the growing demand for housing driven by the integration of major establishments (such as CentraleSupélec) on the Paris-Saclay campus. The complex developed by Linkcity will offer 1,082 beds in 8 buildings. The project was co-designed by the architectural firms LAN and Clément Vergely, and by the landscaping firm Topotek. At its core is a particularly audacious architectural idea: to build up the outer edges of the campus, leaving more open space in the middle. The project includes:

• 3 buildings containing most of the housing units, along the periphery
• 5 circular pavilions, at the centre
• a landscaped park connecting the different parts of the campus and creating a more stimulating environment.

An offer tailored to diverse and changing student lifestyles

In accordance with the "Habiter le Campus" ("Campus Life") charter drawn up by the Paris-Saclay campus, the Serendicity project focuses on flat-sharing and communal areas. With 21,000 m² of habitable space, the project includes many different types of housing:

• 58 three-person student flats
• 67 two-person student flats
• 210 single-room "cluster" flats. Between a single-room flat and a shared flat, a "cluster" flat connects anywhere from 12 to 16 single-room flats and a common area. Each resident has access to his or her own studio plus an additional shared area: the cluster lounge.
• 564 single-room flats

To promote interaction and encourage a sense of community, Serendicity will also have a 200 m² agora, projection room, digital lab and 300 m² of shared areas within the "clusters".

Bouygues construction: a key partner for universities

At Bouygues Construction, we are always striving to help universities boost their prestige. We have numerous references in France and abroad. The Group is currently working on a number of projects including: the construction of one of the new CentraleSupélec buildings at Paris-Saclay; the renovation and expansion of Université de Bordeaux I; and the development of student housing at the University of Hertfordshire and the University of Gloucestershire in the UK.