There should be no monuments on the Les Halles quarter, instead streets, passages, arcades, and squares that are the fabric of Paris. Small parks should vary and relieve the pedestrian experience without destroying the density and activity of the environment.
This proposal is for re-establishing an urban fabric on the devastated site. The pre-Les Halles medieval collision of the ancient orthogonal system at the river and the radiating growth of Montmartre has been reinterpreted and reposed.
We must find the footprints of the original residential quarter and re-build the new program for commercial, office, open spaces and social functions by many architects, based on the visual guidelines of this plan. Uniformity of architectural expression is not a virtue.
The project was selected for exhibition in Paris, London and Florence and was described as "the gradual and discreet healing of the belly of Paris," by the critic Bernard Boutrir in Architectural Design, September 10, 1980.
Team Members:
Beyhan Karahan
Rosalind Krauss
Piero Sartogo
Jon Michael Schwarting
Tom Wittrock