The University of Chicago celebrated the official opening of the John W. Boyer Center in Parisa new facility that will serve as an important regional hub for UChicago’s ambitious education, research and collaboration in Europe, the Middle East and Africa for years to come.

The Center will bring together faculty, students, alumni and partners, while fostering relationships with scholars, policymakers and thinkers from around the world.

“Today is a celebration of our hosts and friends who welcomed and supported us and allowed this place to emerge,” said President Paul Alivisatos. “It’s a physical place of great beauty, a physical place of brilliant design, but it’s also an extremely special idea for how we can work together.”

The celebration included a two-day symposium, which brought together leaders, faculty and representatives from UChicago’s higher education and research institutions in France and Europe. It ended with an inauguration ceremony attended by Marie-Christine Lemardeley, deputy mayor of Paris in charge of higher education, research and student life; Lamia El Aaraje, deputy mayor in charge of town planning, architecture, Greater Paris and accessibility; Jérôme Coumet, mayor of the 13th arrondissement of Paris; and UChicago alumni and friends.

“I am delighted to see that all our common ambitions have come to fruition: to offer students and researchers a campus of exceptional architectural quality in the heart of the city,” said Lemardeley during the inauguration ceremony.

Designed by the renowned architectural firm Studio Gang, the Center is located in the heart of the Paris Rive Gauche district of the 13th arrondissement of Paris, a lively area close to the Paris Cité Grands Moulins University campus and the National Library of France . The new building, funded largely through a collective influx of donationsnearly triples the size of UChicago’s former Paris center, which opened in 2003.

A vertical campus, learning and research areas wrap around a central staircase that connects the spaces both physically and visually. The Center also includes event spaces, a rooftop garden, an amphitheater, classrooms, a library and dedicated workspaces for research teams and visiting researchers. It is also home to the new Paris International Research Institute (IIRP), which supports UChicago’s collaborations across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.