Porte de Montreuil
The GPRU (Great Project for Urban Renewal) consists of formulating a restructuring plan for the peripheral urban areas along the Boulevard Périphérique.
In the urban project (with Bruno Fortier and Michel Desvigne) for the Porte de Montreuil in Paris, urbanism is made through a single building that preserves the green areas from development and makes use of the fact that the current roundabout is over-dimensioned. The bâtiment rond-point functions as a membrane between radically different conditions, and makes them form and balance each other. The car access from the Place de la Port de Montreuil makes the economic functions along the passage more viable without the nuisance. The offices for the regional market generate economic activity for the services in the pôle économique local. While separated spatially, punctual links and spectacular vistas demonstrate its coherence as a new ‘logo’ for the Porte de Montreuil. The bâtiment rond-point brings the realm of the local community and the realm of global flows together – planning as both a cultural act, and a response to market forces.
