
The Esplanade campus was developed at the end of the 1950s to respond to the University of Strasbourg’s growing need for space. Architect Roger Hummel was tasked with a campus master plan, assisted by Alfred Kronenberger, Abraham Weinstein and Maurice Bourstin. A vast open area to the east of the city that was formerly used as barracks and parade ground was chosen for the new campus. Beside the need for space, building a space for science and education on former military ground was highly symbolic. Situated across Victory Boulevard from the old university, built by the German occupant, the new campus was a strong sign of Strasbourg’s emancipation. Anchored by the curved facade of the law faculty building, the Esplanade campus remains to this day a model of postwar education architecture, and is well worth a visit.
Hummel and his collaborators designed several of the campus buildings as well, including the science and technology library, opened in 1967. This large rectangular structure was later topped by an additional floor in 1997, a rather unfortunate extension that altered the stylistic coherence with its neighbours.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the university was looking to offer a new space to its students, a library that doubles as a “third place”, open late at night and following the model of the learning centre that was all the rage at the time. Architect Jean-Pierre Lott was tasked with this project, which replaced the 1967 library. Work on the new Studium began with the demolition of the old library in 2017 and ended with its inauguration for the Fall semester of 2022.

Raising above a largely glazed plinth, the Studium is a stack of three floors that curve like curtains flowing in the wind, a shape characteristic of Lott’s work. The facade is rhythmically marked by vertical brise-soleils of varying orientation, breaking the visual monotony and opening the interior spaces to varying levels of natural light.



Inside, the space is organized around a vast atrium crisscrossed by stairs and bridges and surrounded by rounded balconies. Spaces for work and leisure are thus separated by meandering paths that evoke movement and lightness.

The images shown here date from shortly before inauguration in September 2022. I’m very grateful for the warm welcome I received from the library communication team, and for the private tour of the Studium. Merci beaucoup!
