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Planétarium du Jardin des sciences de l’Université de Strasbourg
By : frenak+jullien - Cardin Julien - m+mathieu holdrinet
GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN – 17th edition
Discipline : Architecture
Categories : Special Award / Architecture + Wood : Gold Certification
Categories : Public Building / Cultural Building : Gold Certification
Inaugurated in 2023, the Planétarium du Jardin des sciences de l’Université de Strasbourg, located on avenue de la Victoire, is the result of a Franco-Quebec collaboration between frenak+jullien, Cardin Julien and m+mathieu holdrinet. The project, winner of an architectural competition in 2016, is integrated into the campus’s historic garden, symbolizing a link between the different eras of university development. Conceived as a bridge between the urban boulevard and the academic garden, the planetarium aims to unite parts of the campus while preserving its landscape heritage.
A relationship with the sky and the ground
The planetarium is made up of two dark volumes that stand out against the green mass of the garden: a truncated cone to house the 138-seat projection room doubled by its access gallery; a cylindrical volume to accommodate the Jardin des sciences hall and associated services. Reaching for the sky, the truncated cone suggests an atemporal quest for knowledge of the universe, while the open, radiating reception hall refers to the many sites managed by the Jardin des sciences.
A machine building
The structure stands out for its unique architecture, blending conical and cylindrical forms, evoking astronomical instruments and 19th-century machine buildings. For passers-by, the cone’s metal disk beckons and reacts to the changing colors of the sky; for local residents overlooking the site, the planetarium’s fifth façade evokes an astronomical instrument set in a garden.
A fertile duality
The two elements, the planetarium and the reception area of the Jardin des sciences, are made of common ingredients, but organized in opposite ways. The planetarium, introverted, is empty around its perimeter (the access gallery to the room) and full at its center (the room), while the reception, widely open onto the garden, is empty at its center (the hall) and surrounded by a built crown (the services). One is luminous and opens onto the sky through a glass roof forming a sundial, while the other is plunged into darkness, to make the artificial sky of the cosmic theater.
Burnt wood, light wood, compactness: an environmental and aesthetic concern
Burnt wood and aluminum on the outside, light wood and plaster on the inside: the materials used for the building are few, simple and contrasting. Outside, the telluric or volcanic aspect of the building is reinforced by a charred film of Douglas fir slats, whose marked, deep brown-black texture takes on silvery reflections under low-angled sunlight. Inside, light-colored wood panels take over, contributing to the hall’s luminous atmosphere. The compactness of the building and the orientation of the openings on the hall side greatly limit the building’s heat loss for good environmental performance.
Jardin des sciences, public garden
The public garden, enriched by plant diversity and educational spaces inspired by the planets of the solar system, reinforces the planetarium’s educational dimension. Combining architectural innovation, environmental commitment and a scientific vocation, this project makes a model of integration and sustainable development.
Collaboration
Architect : m+mathieu holdrinet
