Pioneering research centre for brain development planned in Paris

A new institute aiming to revolutionise the understanding of brain development is set to open in Paris in 2027. Designed by Tenderstream member AIA Life Designers, the Institut Robert-Debré du Cerveau de l’Enfant will bring together children's and families' representatives, researchers, doctors, world-renowned carers and economic players around a single cause: children, their cognitive development and their vulnerabilities. These teams will be located in a dedicated 12,000 sq m building on the site of the Robert-Debré AP-HP hospital, with construction expected to begin later this year.

Measures were taken to mitigate noise and air pollution from the ring road nearby, with materials carefully selected to meet acoustic challenges. Protected by a mineral skin shell that gives the building a unique identity, the exterior design sets the scene for a soothing journey for children and those accompanying them. The arrival sequence is intended to alleviate the stress inherent in any hospital visit, with a bioclimatic atrium that creates an imaginative interior universe, free from the codes of healthcare architecture and designed to stimulate the imagination. 

Public waiting and reception areas are grouped together in the centre of the building, which is lit from above by a soft light that distributes across all the units. Two open-ground atriums bring children into contact with the soothing qualities inherent in nature: a carpet of ground cover, complete with trees and shrubs, places vegetation at the heart of the hospital, while thermally regulating the central space, purifying the air, and ensuring patients' peace of mind.

The five-storey building will house consultations and day hospitals for disciplines linked to the identification and management of neurodevelopmental disorders - including child psychiatry, neurology, neonatology, ophthalmology, ENT, and genetics - alongside clinical and fundamental research platforms, start-up areas, and associations. Dr Ghislaine Dehaene-Lambertz, institute director, stated: “I am delighted to participate in this great French and international adventure, which will bring together a great diversity of talents around childhood. It takes a village to raise a child. Contemporary life seems to forget this. Let's put the child back at the centre of our cities.”

Lucy Nordberg
Tenderstream Head of Research

This tender was first published by Tenderstream on 11.10.2022 here

Start your free trial here or email our team directly at customerservices@tenderstream.com