In the design ONE made with O.M.A., XDGA and Ter for Les Halles, it is proposed to bring the dynamicism and the youth of the entire Île-de-France into the heart of Paris.
In the first, 1980s, version of Les Halles, this influx of Franciliens is stopped by the ‘cork’ of the shopping centre on top of the station (which, in its architectural style, reflects the banlieue). Les Halles 2.0, would allow the banlieue (in many ways more emancipated than ever, in others disenfranchised compared to the Parisian élite) to engage with the city.
The literal uncorking of Paris’ hidden reserves was to have been achieved by radically breaking through Les Halles’ stratified layers. These are, from top to bottom: a green neighbourhood park for the élite of the 1st arrondissement; the public program; the shopping mall; and the railways. In the proposal, the section was made vertical with a long gallery running from below all the way up to the surface, and with what we called ‘émergences’, small flexible buildings that literally emerge from the underground system.
Status: Unbuilt
