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GAÎTÉ MONTPARNASSE PARIS


New social value on the block


James Parker reports on MVRDV’s scheme to transform a Paris city block, which produced a scheme that visually celebrates its intertwined mix of office, library and hotel spaces, and added further value with social housing


M


ontparnasse sits in the south of central Paris, and is renowned as the scene of many artistic gatherings which have helped to cement the city’s reputation. Although in the 14th arrondissement, it is counted as being part of the famous Rive Gauche (left bank’) of the Seine, a major hub for artists in the early 20th century. It contains historic sites such as the Catacombs, but also the 210 metres-high Tour Montparnasse, the tallest skyscraper in France on its completion in 1973.


A couple of blocks south of the tower, on the west side of the major Avenue du Maine arterial route, is a collection of buildings sitting opposite the Gaîté Metro station, another 1970s composition originally titled Ilôt Vandamme, by architect Pierre Dufau. Its chief landmark is a tower which is now a Pullman Hotel, possessing what MVRDV – the architects of a project to ‘transform’ the site – praised as “strong vertical lines,” creating an “unmissable presence in Montparnasse.” Despite its prominence, the site had some major issues including a lack of connection


with the city, and being hampered by the local road infrastructure.


As well as greatly enhancing and improving the existing 1970s facades and improving the internal arrangement, the mixed-use project, called Gaîté Montparnasse, adds the important amenities of social housing and a kindergarten to its various uses. The resulting complex is more welcoming and accessible to pedestrians, while reusing significant parts of the previous structure, and thereby achieving sustainability gains from a circular economy perspective.


Procurement This is the second ‘transformation’ project completed by MVRDV for the client, Paris-based retail group Unibail-Rodamco- Westfield, in 2022, following La Part-Dieu shopping centre in the centre of Lyon, which saw the practice turning another 1970s design intro a more vibrant piece of the city centre.


This scheme was initiated during a period in Montparnasse which saw the “whole neighbourhood evolving,” explains


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