A national research and care institute on the Robert-Debré AP-HP hospital site
The aim of the Institut Robert-Debré du Cerveau de l’Enfant is to better understand the developing brain in order to provide children with the tools they need for health, learning and education.
This Institute is particularly eagerly awaited at a time when public policies for children, while they have been encouraged in recent years (1000 days program, mental health and psychiatry roadmap, autism plan), are still insufficient in France to meet the challenges. Today, one child in 6 suffers from neurodevelopmental disorders, one child in 5 lives below the poverty line, and one child in 5 suffers from difficulties at school.
In May 2023, the Institut Robert-Debré du Cerveau de l’Enfant was the winner of the Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire (IHU) - wave 3 call for projects as part of the France 2030 program, and is now one of France's most prestigious research and healthcare institutes.
As part of this competition, the jury, meeting on September 19, 2023, particularly appreciated the response to the needs of the hospital and research teams, the building's capacity for flexibility and scalability, and the coherence of the pathways throughout the site.
Its members emphasized the project's strong identity, the quality of its architectural style and the way it takes into account a highly constrained environment, with a facade shaped like a protective envelope.
Last but not least, the jury emphasized the extensive use of vegetation in the project, with green roofs and various species of trees planted around the perimeter of the building.
"Protected by a mineral skin shell that gives it its identity and encourages dialogue with the Parisian ring road, the project imagined by AIA sets the scene for a soothing journey for the children and those accompanying them. The arrival sequence is designed to alleviate the stress inherent in any hospital visit. The bioclimatic atrium has been designed to create a fantastical interior universe, free from the codes of healthcare architecture and designed to stimulate the imagination. Nature, at the heart of the program, becomes a vector of well-being for all users.
A two-stage selection process
In January 2023, out of a total of 35 teams, four candidates were selected for the competition: GPAA Architectures, Michel Remon Associés, Emmanuelle Colboc and AIA. In May 2023, each group proposed a project (model, plans, notes of intent, etc.) based on the detailed technical program, which specified the spaces to be integrated and the various requirements of the AP-HP and its partners. Candidates also mentioned all the environmental and compensatory measures associated with their project.
In June 2023, an in-depth analysis of these 4 projects was coordinated by the AP-HP. Nord - Université Paris Cité, bringing together over 100 professionals from the hospital and research communities, as well as user representatives, partners from Université Paris Cité, CEA, Institut Pasteur, INSERM and several departments of the City of Paris. 11 thematic working groups were set up for this purpose.
The jury, which met on September 19, 2023, based its deliberations on the conclusions of the analysis report presented to it by the technical commission. Chaired by Vincent-Nicolas Delpech, Director of the AP-HP. Nord - Université Paris Cité, was made up of 12 members: Dr Constance Beyler, elected medical representative of Robert Debré Hospital, Pr Philippe Ruszniewski, Dean of the Université Paris Cité Medical School, Pr Richard Delorme, Head of the Child Psychiatry Department at Robert Debré Hospital, Pr Xavier Jeunemaître, representative of Université Paris Cité, Claire de Marguerye, INSERM regional delegate, Roger Madec, representative of the mayor of the 19th arrondissement, Isabelle Trubert, user representative, as well as expert architects and engineers Isabelle Noraz, Ana Cabrero, Thorsten Sahlmann and Eric Mallet.
Negotiations will be launched in the coming weeks with the team of AIA Life Designers, architects, ranked first. Notification of the project management contract will take place in early 2024, prior to the start of studies that will enable the project to be developed in successive phases with the winner.
The AP-HP's "hotel, food and technology central purchasing" (ACHAT) common interest group handled the procedure for selecting the winner.
This new phase of work will involve the hospital and research community, the Institute's partners, the City of Paris and, more broadly, all users and their representatives. The aim is to give concrete expression to the ambitions for the Institut Robert-Debré du Cerveau de l’Enfant that the AP-HP is pursuing with its partners to create an innovative building of high environmental quality, perfectly integrated into its urban and green setting.
The building is due to open in 2027.