The heritage Cité de l'architecture arises from the initial merger of three institutions, according to its statutes from
the decree n o 2004-683 of 9 July 2004, codified in Articles R. 142-1 and following of the heritage code:.
The new Institute for Learning Through Research(Institut Innovant de Formation par la Recherche-
IIFR Paris Descartes/ PRES Sorbonne Paris Cité) was inaugurated in March 2012
by the International Scientific Committee of the National Innovative Training Program(IDEFI) of the French Ministry of Research.
The building's familiar towers and
flying buttresses loomed over the Ile de la Cité for centuries, prompting the author Victor Hugo
to locate Notre Dame not only at the literal center of the city of Paris but also at its historical center, as a symbol.