The Centre for Research in Design was created under the impetus of the two supervisory bodies which currently support it: the Ecole normale supérieure Paris Saclay and l’Ecole Nationale Supérieure of Industrial Design (ENSCI - Les Ateliers).
Based in Île-de-France, [the Centre] is situated at the heart of the Paris-Saclay University campus in a building designed for the ENS by Renzo Piano, and benefits from ENSCI-Les Ateliers’ historic studios and renowned expertise. This multisite location offers researchers in design an ideal environment, where internationally renowned training institutions, laboratories and industries converge.
The Centre advocates the creation of research projects, for the combined production of knowledge and practice. Anchored in industrial design, its first ambition is to drive forward research programmes working on the contemporary articulation of scientific knowledge, technical developments and the transformations of society.
Through these two supervisory bodies, it receives the three-pronged support of the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, from the Ministry of Culture (MIR —Mission Recherche) and from the Ministry of Industry. Registration in the Répertoire National des Structures de Recherche - Unité de recherche : n° 201923272.