Les Halles redevelopment designed by Patrick Berger in Paris has transformed a long-criticized area with a new steel and glass canopy, aiming to restore the site’s historic spirit. Unveiled on April 5, 2016, this €1bn project, Paris’s largest in decades, addresses the complex access issues of Europe’s busiest underground station. The Canopy, a 7,000-tonne structure covering 2.5 hectares, features 18,000 glass shingles over a shopping concourse. Despite the architectural ambition, the execution has been criticized for its convoluted design and institutional feel. The project includes cultural facilities, yet these spaces lack visibility and vibrancy.
“Vast umbrellas and nothing more,” was what Emperor Napoleon III demanded for his new market building in central Paris in the 1850s, made of “iron, iron, nothing but iron!”
The resulting wrought-iron and glass pavilions of Les Halles, designed by city architect Victor Baltard, were demolished in the 1970s and replaced with an underground shopping center topped with mirror-glass structures, in one of the worst acts of urban vandalism of the century. Nicknamed “the hole of Les Halles,” the site, with a park that became a hub for drug dealing, has been a national embarrassment ever since.
But that disliked complex has now been demolished and replaced with a new steel and glass canopy that aims to recall some of the spirit of Baltard’s original market – in the form of one of the biggest umbrellas of all time.
Unveiled on April 5, 2016, the €1bn redevelopment is the largest infrastructure project Paris has undertaken in decades, aiming to fix the disorganized area where Europe’s biggest underground station handles 750,000 passengers a day into a labyrinth of shops. The redevelopment improves access in and out of the subterranean mall, with the centerpiece above ground being a massive new roof known simply as “the Canopy,” stretching across 2.5 hectares in an undulating framework of custard-colored steel ribs.
This 7,000-tonne umbrella, which supports 18,000 glass shingles, covers a new shopping concourse, where a Lego flagship store faces a Sephora beauty store, and a series of sunken terraces lead down to the existing mall below. It is a bold and noticeable addition to the 1st arrondissement, with its brim rippling around the site’s perimeter, rising and falling in a fluid shape.
Architect Patrick Berger describes his structure as “opening up an east-west axis,” with views of the soon-to-be revamped park next door and aligning Les Halles with the Pompidou Centre and the Palais-Royal and Louvre, aiming to match these grand buildings in ambition – but not, unfortunately, in quality.
Berger envisions his tent as feeling like walking into a forest glade, with warm, diffuse light and glimpses of the sky – but his structure lacks that promised lightness. It is highly complex, with the steel roof contorted in twists and turns, forming a convoluted rollercoaster of curved trusses and angled bracing. The whole structure appears to sag under the weight of expectation. The color does not help either. Ranging between sand and rancid butter depending on the light, the yellow steel casts a jaundiced hue, giving the interiors an institutional feel.
The project has good intentions beneath its elaborate canopy. Mayor Anne Hidalgo insisted on cultural facilities within this consumerist hub, including a new library, music and arts conservatory, and a hip-hop center. Les Halles station has long been a place of spontaneous street dance and music.
Despite these aims, these spaces fall short. Tucked away upstairs, with no visible street presence, they occupy a sterile environment more like a hospital than a vibrant arts center. They could have been spectacular performance rooms overlooking the concourse below. Instead, they feel insipid, lacking the character of Nouveau Les Halles, a 1980s mall extension housing a gym, swimming pool, and cinema in an atmospheric concrete underworld, designed by Paul Chemetov to evoke “chunks of a collapsed town imprisoned below ground.” Here, Berger’s steel cage imprisons you.
Given its troubled history, it was easy to predict this project would end up as a compromise. In 2004, former mayor Bertrand Delanoë launched an international competition to “undo the authoritarian traditions of French urban planning.” The four finalists included French architects Jean Nouvel and David Mangin, alongside Dutch firms OMA and MVRDV. The OMA scheme – a cluster of 21 pyramidal towers connecting the levels – was the judges’ favorite, but the public preferred the least disruptive option.
OMA’s Proposal for Les Halles Paris – Les Halles
In OMA’s proposal for the redevelopment of Les Halles in Paris, the focus lies on redefining the urban landscape through nuanced architectural interventions. The vision encompasses a variety of pavilions and landscapes designed to seamlessly integrate underground and surface levels. This approach aims to create a diverse, environmentally conscious urban environment, moving away from grand gestures and emphasizing a culturally rich and integrated urban fabric for Paris.
MVRDV’s Proposal for Les Halles Paris – The rose window
MVRDV’s proposal for the redevelopment of Les Halles in Paris aims to transform the site into a vibrant and multifunctional urban space. Their approach involves integrating diverse interventions that collectively redefine the area. Key elements include creating a dynamic “hall” covered by a glass roof, reminiscent of the site’s historical significance. Above this hall, a glass garden serves as a public plaza, illuminated from below and offering views into the city’s underground complexities. The design prioritizes connectivity and openness, with redesigned station access and cascading circulation pathways. MVRDV’s vision seeks to harmonize modern functionality with historical context, aiming to revitalizing Les Halles into a culturally rich and accessible urban hub.
Ricardo Bofill’s Taller de Arquitectura Proposal for Les Halles Paris
In 1974, Ricardo Bofill won the French Ministry of Culture’s competition for “Le trou des Halles” alongside ten other teams. Bofill’s vision was to create “a monument within the city,” featuring a green area with architectural character, reflecting French tradition. This space was intended as a central meeting place in Paris.
Although Bofill’s project began construction, it faced significant controversy. Paris Mayor Jacques Chirac decided to halt Bofill’s work and instead implemented the design by architect Jean Willerval. This decision led to the razing of Bofill’s partially constructed project.
When Paris lost the 2012 Olympic bid, ambitions, and budgets were lowered, so Mangin’s plan for simple lawns, with part of the site covered by a big roof, was selected. However, his roof lacked architectural flair and was criticized in the New York Times as “a banally tasteful vision of modernity.” Delanoë, seeking an icon, held a second competition for the canopy, demanding “an artwork of the 21st century,” which Berger won with his swooping yellow tent.
The original 1970s project faced similar issues, with successive presidents and mayors canceling the work of their predecessors. As if marking this troubled history, a waterfall now flows from the canopy at the new Les Halles entrance: a combined tribute to every politician who has tried to leave their mark on this challenging site.
