TOULOUSE
Paul Sabatier III University, named after the Toulouse-born winner of the 1912 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, is a merger of the former faculties of science and medicine, later expanded to include specialisms in science, technology, health sciences and sport. Since its inauguration in 1969, it has become one of the most prestigious universities in the ‘Pink City’. Indeed, the site was designed to resemble a vast American-style campus set amidst lush greenery!
On this dual-narrated tour, the architect and the guide will take you on a journey to the world of ‘Back to the Contemporary Future’. As you wander around, you’ll walk amongst the teaching blocks where concrete blends with flexibility, and past those strange residential blocks better known as ‘tripods’ (nothing to do with *The War of the Worlds*). You’ll also stop off at the library, a central tower that serves as the campus’s true landmark, where the photo-etched concrete of the 2010s enriches the functionalist style inherited from the 1960s.
To link the buildings, a long promenade known as the ‘Fil d’Arianne’ has been incorporated and brought to life with works of art, leading to the second part of this journey – not cinematic, but architectural: the spiritual setting of the Dominican convent and studium at Rangueil.
This time, the contemporary architecture aims to foster a sense of spiritual inspiration through the pure simplicity of materials that blend tradition (cobble masonry) and modernity (exposed concrete). The Brothers’ building features ‘sunshades’ and skylights that create a sense of space. Numerous artists – glassmakers, painters and ceramicists – have contributed to the creation of the décor, and it is a Dominican friar himself who tells us the story of these premises, which were designated as part of the 20th-Century Heritage scheme in 2007.
Tour organised in partnership with Noviciat and the Maison de l’Architecture Occitanie-Pyrénées. Booking essential.
