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French architects Coldefy & Associates Architects Urban Planners have revealed plans for the world's largest single-domed tropical greenhouse. Called Tropicalia, this vast indoor landscape will soon pop up in the Pas-de-Calais area in Northern France and house all sorts of tropical flora and... View full entry
Construction has just begun on MVRDV's Lyon Part-Dieu, a shopping mall located in Lyon, France. The new design features a porous facade breaking up the exterior pattern and allowing for greater fluidity with its surrounding environment. Lyon Part-Dieu Shopping Center by MVRDV, located in Lyon... View full entry
Dominique Coulon & Associés, based in the east of France, is famous for its masterful use of color. The firm recently completed a sports hall, a performing arts center, and a media library all in France. Check out these stunning public projects below: 'Human Rights' Sports Center, located... View full entry
The Pritzker Prize winning architect, Álvaro Siza, has completed a white concrete church in France's Brittany region. The church of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande, consecrated over the weekend in the presence of over 300 people, is the first church built in the area in over 40 years—the only, thus... View full entry
Spurred by concerns over climate change and the negative impacts of concrete manufacturing, architects and developers in France are increasingly turning to wood for their office towers and apartment complexes.
Concrete was praised through much of the 20th century for its flexibility, functionality, and relative affordability. [...] Today, however, wood is lauded for its smaller environmental footprint and the speed with which buildings can be assembled.
— Citylab
Broken gargoyles and fallen balustrades replaced by plastic pipes and wooden planks. Flying buttresses darkened by pollution and eroded by rainwater. Pinnacles propped up by beams and held together with straps. — New York Times
The historic French monument, Notre-Dame de Paris, has suffered due to time, rain, pollution and wind. Built from 1160 to 1345, with restorations and additions in the mid 19th century by architects Jean-Baptiste Lassus and Viollet-le-Duc, the cathedral attracts 14 million visitors per year. Image... View full entry
Church officials, who have created what they are calling a “stone cemetery” from fallen masonry, say the cathedral remains safe to visit.
Entry is free and the French state, which owns the building, devotes €2m (£1.9m) a year to repairs. But that is not enough to embark on major restoration works, the last of which were carried out during the 1800s, officials at the cathedral and charity said.
— The Guardian
The archbishop of Paris launched a €100m fundraising campaign for Notre Dame's extensive restoration works. The 12th century cathedral on the Seine river—one of Paris' biggest landmarks, is visited by up to 14 million people visit per year. “Gargoyles are what people want to see when they... View full entry
Stately, elegant, reflective: these adjectives have largely described the work of British architect David Chipperfield, whose structures tend to invite contemplation and pause before hot take Instagramming. His selection as the architect of the West Bund Art Museum in the new cultural center... View full entry
The World Design Organization today announced that Lille, France and Sydney, Australia have made the shortlist to become World Design Capital 2020, for their effective use of design to drive economic, social, cultural, and environmental development in their cities. City visits will be conducted... View full entry
Kengo Kuma & Associates have been commissioned to design an "eco-luxury hotel" building perched above the railways of the Paris-Rive Gauche district. Part of a larger development, the building is meant to serve as a landmark for the neighborhood. Credit: Luxigon / Mir “In the context of... View full entry
Mr. Ando plans to build a circular structure with three levels of galleries inside the round building, which is bound by strict historic preservation norms. It will have 32,000 square feet of exhibition space and an underground auditorium. The museum, which will only showcase contemporary art — including pieces from Mr. Pinault’s collection of more than 3,000 works — will be renovated and run by his family’s company... — The New York Times
Photo: © Artefactory Lab; Tadao Ando Architect & Associates; NeM / Niney & Marca Architects; Agency Pierre-Antoine Gatier / Courtesy of Collection Pinault Is this the first time a former stock exchange has been transformed into a museum? Either way, the new design should be open to the... View full entry
How can architects create livable, breathable spaces that not only honor the history of a region, but anticipate the global population increase? This is partly the mission of MVRDV's 300-unit residential apartment/mixed use Ilot Queyries, which is located adjacent to the ZAC Bastide-Niel... View full entry
They are known as the ghost stations: 16 stops on the Paris Métro system barred and padlocked nearly 70 years ago.
In the past seven decades, many ideas for their reinvention have been floated, including turning one into a swimming pool and others into bars and nightclubs. None have come to anything, but their allure remains.
Now, Paris city hall has put three of the phantom stations into an international competition to develop unused subterranean space.
— The Guardian
Dubbed 'Reinvent Paris', the initiative aims to transform a total of thirty-four sites owned by regional authorities into economic, cultural or social spaces. The three unused metro stations are at the Champs de Mars in the 7th arrondissement, the Croix-Rouge in the 6th and Saint-Martin, between... View full entry
Philippe Chiambaretta's architecture practice PCA-STREAM unveiled the scheme for The Link, a new office tower in Paris' La Défense business district. At 244 meters tall, The Link will be the district's tallest tower, PCA says. In 2018, a 6,500 square-meter plot will be cleared out for its... View full entry
Funded mainly by tourist dollars, the French site of Guedelon has been building a medieval-style castle for the last 17 years using only the technology and tools that would have been available circa 1245. The result, which has created a living lab of craftspeople visited by curious schoolchildren... View full entry
