We sent a photographer to capture some of the most beautiful brutalism in Paris’s banlieues
Ask a Parisian to name the city’s most beautiful building and they’d probably reach for something within the grand Périphérique ringroad that encircles the city centre. The Arc de Triomphe, say. Or the Grand Palais. Maybe even the towering open books that make up the Bibliothèque François-Mitterand.
And yet, we’d wager they hadn’t even considered the heaps of brilliantly out-there brutalist buildings that pepper the skyline in the wider banlieues. The suburbs of Grand Paris brim with madcap concrete structures worthy of any coffee-table architecture book, so we sent out our photographer to take some snaps – here are five of the coolest buildings he found.
RECOMMENDED: Full guide to the best things to do in Paris
Tired of seeing his neighbours in south-eastern Ivry-sur-Seine stacked on top of each other like Tetris blocks, architect Jean Renaudie looked to the stars for inspiration. His trademark geometric style is now known the world over, but nothing beats traipsing round these ’70s icons in the flesh. Renaudie himself lived here up until his death in 1981.
You may well recognise these towers to the east of Paris. In 2015 they filmed the last scene of the final ‘Hunger Games’ here. Francis Lawrence, the director, had said he wanted the saga’s grand finale to be set somewhere truly apocalyptic, and he can’t have been disappointed. The three enormous blocks were designed by Spaniard Ricardo Bofill, who’s since left his mark all over Paris’s suburbs.
‘Versailles for the people’ – that’s how one critic referred to this eye-catching housing complex when it was first built in 1979. Largely inspired by the Château de Chenonceau, the six-block ‘viaduc’, also designed by Bofill, juts out into a sprawling artificial lake to the west of Paris. Don’t miss ‘Voilure’, a sculpture by French artist Marcel van Thienen in the middle of the water.
Another alluring construction out in Noisy-le-Grand, this multi-storey parking lot is known as the ‘double helix’ for its photo-worthy twists and bends. Like a crash-landed concrete UFO, Ludovic Maillard’s ’70s masterpiece wouldn’t look out-of-place in a sci-fi blockbuster.
Variously nicknamed the ‘flower-houses’, the ‘dahlias’ and the ‘corn ears’, Gérard Grandval’s Choux were the object of much derision when they first bloomed to the south-east of the capital in 1969. Thankfully, their balconies, bulbous like curled petals, have since earned some affection – to the degree they’re now a certified national heritage site.
From Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin to Galerie Daniel Templon, you’re bound to catch something eye-catching (and perhaps even buyable) at these contemporary art galleries in Paris itself.
Discover Time Out original video
