The Future Women and Children’s Center at Avicenne Hospital. The project for the future Women and Children’s Center (Pôle Femmes-Enfants – PFE) at Avicenne Hospital is one of AP-HP’s responses to the public health challenges in the Seine-Saint-Denis area. It is part of AP-HP’s broader effort to rebalance investment towards the northern parts of Paris, particularly in this northeastern territory where the birth rate (1.9) significantly exceeds the national average (1.3) and that of the Île-de-France region (1.5).
The new maternity ward within the PFE is expected to handle up to 3,000 births per year, making it one of the largest maternity units in the country.
Inaugurated in 1935, the hospital—then known as the Franco-Muslim Hospital—was originally intended to serve Muslim patients from the Maghreb living in the Paris region. One of the key challenges in constructing the new Women and Children’s Center lies in creating a new urban component facing the historic hospital’s listed buildings (specifically, the entrance gate and colonnade of the original reception pavilion). The success of the PFE project largely depends on its ability to engage in a respectful and balanced dialogue with this historically significant context.
To establish the conditions for such dialogue with the site’s architectural heritage, our design approach is grounded in three architectural markers :
• Integration
• Invitation to movement
• Constructive thinking and resilience
Client
AP-HP (Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris)
Project Team
Lead Contractor : Rabot-Dutilleul Construction
Architect : AIA Architectes
Structural & HVAC Engineering : AIA Ingénierie
Infrastructure, Electrical & Acoustic Engineering : TPFI
Environmental Expertise : AIA Environnement
Landscape & Urban Planning : AIA Territoires
Project Coordination & Cost Management : AIA Management
Program
Construction of a Women and Children’s Center including :
– Outpatient departments (Women and Children) : 31 places
– Assisted Reproduction Unit (ART) : 24 places
– Gynecology-Obstetrics hospitalization: 105 beds
– Neonatal unit: 21 bassinets
– Pediatric hospitalization: 28 beds
– Delivery rooms: 6 birthing suites
– Operating rooms: 2 surgical suites
Certifications: E3-C1, BiodiverCity, and Effinature
Area
19,515 m² GFA – 11,677 m² usable floor area / Site area : 12 hectares
Cost
€62.6 million (excl. VAT)
Timeline
Competition Winner : May 2022
Completion : September 2025
Renderings: ©Kaupunki