The PALAIS SHIFT approaches the Palais du Midi as a civic infrastructure rather than a singular building. It understands it as a thick urban body shaped by overlapping histories of production, education, sports and everyday use. Instead of treating the existing structure as a fixed heritage object or as an obstacle to metropolitan infrastructure, the project introduces a new architectural intervention. Rather than adding a singular object, the proposal operates through a continuous roof structure that spans the entire footprint of the Palais du Midi. Precisely oriented towards the north, this new structure establishes a deliberate shift in relation to the existing building. The resulting overlap produces moments of friction and alignment, where existing and new structures sit on top of one another and generate differentiated spatial conditions. The roof acts as an active device that organizes light, air and use. Through these strategies, the project establishes a continuous gradient of spaces ranging from S, M, L and XL. Intimate rooms, mid sized workspaces, large halls and expansive collective interiors coexist within one coherent system. At the same time, the project reactivates spatial figures that have appeared throughout the Palais history. Courtyards, halls, small shops and passages are not reconstructed historically but spatially reinterpreted through a contemporary architectural language. Architecture is framed as an evolving system that supports multiple scales of use, continuity and a collective life over time.
collab mit M.Meyer
Chair of Affective Architectures; Prof. An Fonteyne; betreut durch: Ties Linders, Edoardo Signori, Shehrazade Mahassini, Geraldine Recker
