Lise Meitner square by STAR strategies + architecture

Lise Meitner Square is part of the experimental housing project START in Ivry-sur-Seine, which includes five residential buildings. And yet, this square was not initially meant to exist. Its creation required overcoming major constraints linked to two 1,500-metre-deep geothermal wells on site, which initially demanded a fenced, impermeable and inaccessible zone. Such an arrangement would have seriously compromised the quality of life for the nearly 300 families living in START-Ivry. After long negotiations with the geothermal operator, we secured a 2,600m² public space—transforming a technical limitation into a meaningful urban asset.

Global Design & Architecture Design Awards 2025
Second Award | Public Landscape

Project Name: Lise Meitner Square, the square that was never meant to exist
Category: Public Landscape
Studio Name: : BOARD (Bureau of Architecture, Research, and Design) in collaboration with STAR strategies + architecture
Design Team: BOARD team: Bernd Upmeyer, Efraín Pérez del Barrio; STAR team: Beatriz Ramo López de Angulo, Danae Zachariaki
Area: 2600m²
Year: 2025 (finishing works ongoing)
Location: Ivry-sur-Seine, Greater Paris Region
Consultants: Urban agriculture: TOPAGER
Photography Credits: Nicolas Grosmond, STAR strategies + architecture
Render Credits: STAR strategies + architecture
Other Credits: –

Though shaped by constraints, the square is ultimately a gift to the neighbourhood: a fully open, inclusive public space. It occupies a privileged location on the Seine riverfront, just 400m from the future ‘Parc-de-la-Confluence’, at the heart of the ZAC-Ivry-Confluences urban renewal zone. The square’s design highlights the geothermal system at its centre, while its materials meet strict maintenance requirements and its colour palette aligns with the START-Ivry project. It has a triangular form connecting it to neighbouring public areas, while the two newly created pedestrian alleys cross the commercial plinth of START-Ivry, link the square to the main avenue, and frame views toward the iconic cable bridge over the Seine.

Due to the wells, tall plantings and fixed furniture were prohibited, and most of the surface had to remain waterproof and robust for heavy maintenance vehicles. Originally, no budget existed for the square, but close collaboration with the architect of the START-Ivry project, allowed a €642,000 excl. VAT budget to be secured.

Three main themes structure the square:

1. The Geothermal Energy
   The square’s design highlights the geothermal installation at its heart. Its safety perimeter — usually seen as a technical constraint — here becomes here the central element of the project, materialised by an orange asphalt ring tracing the emblematic oval shape of the square. A large zebra pattern reinforces its pedestrian character. Other ground markings enrich the space: a mini-plan showing the iconic footprint of the five START-Ivry towers, and a quote from French writer and anthropologist Françoise Héritier: “Breathing in the secret smell of tar and sea in the hair on the temple of someone you love…”

2. The Four Paths
   Two new alleys connect the main avenue to the square, paved in beige deactivated concrete, each lined with five benches shaped like the surrounding buildings with integrated lighting. A third, six-metre-wide brushed concrete path crosses the square, from north-to-south, for maintenance access, with retractable bollards at each end. A fourth path of deactivated concrete runs along the north-east edge, framing the square against the adjacent building.

3. The Three Zones
   Three circular areas serve flexible uses—sports, fitness, café terraces—each with different treatments: red soft surface, beige deactivated concrete, and low grass. Mid-height grasses and perennials border these zones, restricted to 0,5–1m to meet geothermal maintenance rules. The planting palette creates a light, shifting, sensorial experience, attracting bees, butterflies, birds, and small animals, while biodiversity features-logs, stones, and nesting boxes-further support local wildlife.