Paris, France
Gare du Nord
The Gare du Nord, a magnificent Paris monument, is today the foremost European railway station in terms of traffic, with almost 800,000 passengers daily.
Client
Program
Area
Planning
Client
Ceetrus
Gares & Connexions (SNCF)
Program
Extension and transformation of Gare du Nord station.
Area
110,000 m²
Planning
Competition
2017
The ambition of this large-scale project was to transform it into an urban complex and make it a new type of benchmark for the 21st century while taking account of the existing historic heritage. The interior façade of the great concourse designed by J. Hittorff in the 19th century has been restored to its original state and is now a magnificent reception area for passengers using the main European lines.
The organisation of the various flows between departures and arrivals, together with the development of the necessary surfaces for accommodating services and facilities, had to meet new aspirations, thus offering the opportunity to rethink the overall design and its relationship with the city. The creation of a single entrance, an immense loggia opening onto the forecourt to the east of the historic station, gave access to an internal street, 300 m in length and covered by a glass roof designed in accordance with a Voronoi diagram (a type of pattern frequently found in nature, for example the configuration of the nervures of dragonfly wings). This architectural handwriting, intended to create a poetic image of freedom and lightness, also created a pathway of light crossing the new building, guiding users towards the departures to all destinations and serving the new facilities – retail, cultural, sports and coworking.
The organisation of the various flows between departures and arrivals, together with the development of the necessary surfaces for accommodating services and facilities, had to meet new aspirations, thus offering the opportunity to rethink the overall design and its relationship with the city. The creation of a single entrance, an immense loggia opening onto the forecourt to the east of the historic station, gave access to an internal street, 300 m in length and covered by a glass roof designed in accordance with a Voronoi diagram (a type of pattern frequently found in nature, for example the configuration of the nervures of dragonfly wings). This architectural handwriting, intended to create a poetic image of freedom and lightness, also created a pathway of light crossing the new building, guiding users towards the departures to all destinations and serving the new facilities – retail, cultural, sports and coworking.
Lille University Hospital