A vast project foresees the enlargement and renovation of the École supérieure de physique et de chimie industrielle (ESPCI) located on the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève in the Latin Quarter in Paris. Beyond the necessary modernization of the scientific facilities, one of the main tasks of the project is to open up the urban block of around one and a half hectares onto the surrounding neighborhood. At its center, the site offers 3,900 square meters of planted spaces for possible access by the public. The transplantation of a genuine living environment, made up from the plant species found in the forests of the Ile-de-France region surrounding Paris, provides immersion into a piece of reconstituted nature. Aesthetic qualities are reestablished, rather than a formal composition.

This micro-forest is made up mostly of trees with trunks spaced far apart, preserving the transparency of the site while creating large visual openings onto the entire urban block and public space. This piece of nature is completed with a full wooded setting in which all of its various layers of vegetation are organized: large trees, small shrubs, perennials, ferns, bulbs, and herbaceous plants. The miniature forest stretches across different spaces, coming to characterize the entirety of the interior of the urban block. This approach of “filling” the site functions in softening its complexity, while imparting a sense of breadth to a space at times very confined. In the center, a gardened courtyard provides a convivial space where one can stop and rest.