69 Quai d'Orsay
Following the fall break, you may have noticed that the first floor restrooms in the Combes lobby have ceased to exist. The bathrooms were sacrificed for the progress of the upcoming Quai d’Orsay building, which is expected to be fully functional sometime in Fall 2019.
Some students have questions about the mysterious construction happening behind Combes. So I sat down with David Horne, head of campus development which includes the Quai d’Orsay project to shed some light on the project.
Horne, a long time member of the administrative team, shared with us that a few years ago there was a discussion of moving the entire campus to Ile-Segal off the eastern coast of France. But, the island campus plan never came to fruition as we are now expanding our roots in the seventh arrondissement.
Image Credit: American University of Paris
Creating a hub for student life and academics has been a long-standing goal for AUP. A solution was found in the Quai d’Orsay building, which was purchased this August. Renovations began immediately upon purchase. In regards to the building's progress, Horne shared that they are currently in the phase of demolition and asbestos removal.
The small buildings behind Combes are being demolished to create a passageway from Combes to Quai d'Orsay to essentially become one big building and the heart of the campus.
"It's going to be a huge change for the university and a huge change for the students because it’s going to be a new space and a lot of things will be in one place," Horne explained.
Quai d’Orsay stands tall with eight floors and a sky-lit reading room on the ground floor which is a lounge and study space. The glass ceiling will give students the feeling of being outside while being shielded from the elements. It will house a new library and feature longer hours as requested by just about every student at AUP.
The yellow zone pictured below is a mixture of study and academic support services, arc, writing lab tutoring careers advising. The green depicts where classes will be held. The newly expanded research center in light blue will have a floor of its own. Topping off the Quai d'Orsay tower will be home to a conference room and evening event space with a view as it overlooks the city.
Image Credit: American University of Paris
On the first floors, we have a mixture of office space and study space, "You’ll have a mixture of open study space and closed study space. The closed study space being something we don’t really have right now. In other words, small study rooms. We have study rooms now but they are a little bit too big," explained Horne.
Study space will also be available along with multiple closed study rooms available for students to schedule time in.
Image Credit: American University of Paris
Students here in Fall 2019 can expect to see a lot of Quai d’Orsay in the near distant future. For updates on the buildings, progress keeps an eye out on the AUP Campus Development page or ask David Horne himself as he will undoubtedly be around Combes as the progress continues.
Image Credit: Alyssa Belton
