The place of unexpected knowledge

Go to Paris, left bank, at the edge of the Latin Quarter. In front of us stands a huge building: the former Sorbonne-Nouvelle Censier campus, renamed Césure for a period of two years. This new third place is the latest project led by Plateau Urbain in collaboration with Yes We Camp, and focuses on the transmission of knowledge and know-how, pending its rehabilitation by the public university development institution. Here, on 25,000 m2, more than 180 structures have taken up residence, creating a real field of exchange and experimentation where everyone discovers how to learn better from each other.

The university's move has been planned for a long time. The Sorbonne-Nouvelle Censier building is no longer brand new, and the presence of asbestos in its walls makes its evacuation mandatory before the start of work. As a result, the State, the Rectorate of Paris, and the public university development institution of the region have drawn up a calendar. The latter foresees the move of the university to the brand new Nation campus, then the renovation of the Censier site, so that it can, in the long term, welcome new students. But according to this same calendar, two years separate the move from the start of work, a period during which the site would be empty, but still usable.

It was at this moment that Plateau Urbain got involved in the adventure, and that the bases of the Césure project were born. Angèle de Lamberterie, development director of Plateau Urbain, tells us how it came about: “It was the State that came to us to do a first feasibility study,” she says. With ten years of experience in creating cultural third places, Plateau Urbain first carried out a technical study, which highlighted the relevance of creating a new space on this site. Angèle de Lamberterie continues: “After studying, the state launched a call for tenders, and we responded by surrounding ourselves with partners such as Yes We Camp.”

Winners of this call for tenders, Plateau Urbain and Yes We Camp launched Césure, taking over the premises on June 1, 2022, the day after the university move. For Angèle de Lamberterie, in addition to the satisfaction of being able to complete this project, its genesis is particularly symbolic: “Over time, we have succeeded in changing mentalities,” she says, “it was the state that came looking for us, because communities realized that it had become impossible to leave such an empty space for several years.”

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Thus, in the summer of 2022, Césure was born in the 5th arrondissement of Paris. In addition to merging workplace and culture, like the previous Plateau Urbain projects, Césure is announced as being “in the continuity of the university”, because according to Angèle de Lamberterie “It remains a place of learning, which wants to look to the future, by experimenting with new ways of learning”.

On site, 2,000 students from 5 different schools continue to evolve on site in classrooms specially renovated for the occasion. In parallel, Plateau Urbain has selected 180 structures, artists, artisans and associations to come and occupy the premises at an unbeatable price. Among them, a large proportion helps students and refugees in difficulty, through the organization of support courses, conferences or workshops. In addition to these structures, several educational actors, such as schools, universities or external organizations, come from time to time to participate in projects to integrate young people, whether they are students, refugees or far from the academic world.

With this almost unprecedented mix of populations, new relationships are being created. The common areas within Césure becoming real places of exchange between members. But while they were able to take advantage of these walls in preview, many are waiting for the sunny days to be able to do the same.

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Angèle de Lamberterie announces: “As of spring 2023, we will open our doors to the general public.” Indeed, from the beginning, Céssure has been intended to be a place open to all. Very soon, hundreds of events will be organized there, most of them intended to be “conducive to meetings and debates”. Through this cultural component, the university site should regain its appearance of an anthill of yesteryear. Multidisciplinary and accessible to all, the programming will promote experimentation and creation, combining cultural meetings, regular wellness activities, craft courses and artistic residencies. 

To accommodate this cultural offer, several spaces have been set up. Angèle de Lamberterie lists them: “We have set up a canteen located in the former library, right next to a space called the Grand Plateau, a 1,000 m2 room that can be privatized where exhibitions and parades will be organized. A 400-seat amphitheater will also be available, as well as a redesigned courtyard, a cabaret, and several other outdoor spaces.”

For the general public, the opening of this space is only a matter of weeks. But with the prospect of walking the campus again for an exhibition, a parade or a round table, comes a countdown. In a little over a year, in the summer of 2024, it will be time for Caesure to close this happy parenthesis, so that several universities, in particular Paris 2, take over. A horizon line that resembles the end of a vacation, which will remain in the memory of members as the link between the two lives of a place of transmission.

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