The campus of Université de Pau et du Pays de l’Adour (UPPA), bearing the hallmark of its architect André Grésy, is immersed in wooded grounds and has a strong relationship with its environment. In order to comply with the project developed by the university, to coordinate the different activities, and to upgrade - in terms of quantity and quality - the material means and real estate, the building of the Faculté de Droit, Economie et Gestion - Faculty of Law, Economics & Management - and of the Institut d’Administration des Entreprises - Institute of Business Administration - is reorganized, and an extension of the research centre is created.

The world of research is constantly changing. Therefore the project developed by Patrick Mauger is open-ended.

Inside, the entrance lobby is considerably enlarged. Orientation is facilitated. Circulation flows are separated. New vertical circulation routes allow better connections between floor levels, and it will be possible to create future extensions by adapting them. These strongly-marked architectural spaces make it easy for users to find their bearings and create favourable conditions for communication. On the south, an extension with full-height glazing is added onto the existing longitudinal building, extending the developed architecture into the grounds, to accommodate functions of the programme. A wide central stairway winds around a void bathed in overhead lighting. The stairway is a real sculptural work in white concrete, and is the spinal column of the scheme, set in a stairwell of red concrete which gives it its force and allows all users to immediately find their bearings. It is accessible from communal areas for research teachers, seminars and thesis presentations, and from the administration offices of the doctoral school, and it leads to the upper floor levels, at the junction of the documentation areas and the research centres’ offices.

Outside, the façade is revised and modernised. The horizontal bands of tiled canopies which characterise the initial architecture are adapted. A random mix of 5 colours of roof tiles, both enamelled and non-enamelled, livens up the façades of the new building, facilitating identification. These new tiled canopies cover housings for retractable tilting sun-shade louvers, which allow personalised control of daylight admission and optimal thermal control of solar gain.

The use of bio-sourced ecologically responsible materials - external and internal wood joinery, including parquet wood strip flooring, wood wool external insulation, and earthenware tiles - helps to limit the new building’s carbon footprint. Other active devices and measures complement the work on the environmental approach: energy recovery from all air handling units, additional night-time ventilation, a BMS - building management system - and double flow ventilation to reduce energy consumption, and optimised natural daylighting.