EMBT wins competition for clichy montfermeil metro station in paris

EMBT wins competition for clichy montfermeil metro station in paris
all images courtesy of EMBT

to conclude a two-stage competition held by the société du grand parís, miralles tagliabue (EMBT) along with local architects bordas+peiro have won the commission to design the future ‘clichy – montfermeil’ metro station in paris, france. to be complemented by a large public plaza, the project is distinguished by a colorful and geometrically dynamic canopy, which continues as the walls of a sunken atrium leading to the train platforms four stories below. the transit stop is part of an ambitious urban project aimed at improving the existing transport network and creating a new automatic metro, known as the ‘grand paris express’.

a colorful pergola floats above the ground level to identify the canopy and plaza

located at the border of two towns, clichy-sous-bois and montfermeil, the station and ground level plaza seek to revive a currently forgotten and underutilized suburban area. in fall of 2005, the neighborhood experienced violent riots that included the burning of cars and buildings. the addition of this public space and metro stop will act as a symbol for change as well as link the area to the entirety of paris.

transverse section: a panelized colorful wall wraps the sunken atrium

to smoothly link with the surrounding urban area, the designed landscape and plaza gently slope downward to the station’s entry. circulation to the four levels below is arranged around a central atrium, which is characterized by its colorful panelized walls and contains a network of irregularly organized escalators. the layout produces increased interaction between passers-by. ‘the access becomes a game, where the passengers can see each other but they don’t cross. the circulation has been brought into scene, and the passenger becomes the principal actor.’

longitudinal section: an irregular network of escalators reach the metro platforms four levels below grade

beyond solely serving the planned metro line, the station will also act as a hub for bus travel. additionally, the public aspect of the project is enhanced with a mix of commercial program, as well added green spaces.

led by architect benedetta tagliabue, the design team describes its overall optimistic outlook:

‘the idea was to give a new identity to this place, with a glance to the origins of many of its inhabitants. we would like to transform this grey and abandoned place into a vivid and colorful square, which inspires joy and optimism. this is why we based the motives of the pavement, the shapes and the colors of the roof on the tissues, decorative motives and colors from africa.’

conceptual collage

model of sunken atrium and escalator arrangement

model of pergola structure

map of the planned ‘grand paris express’ automatic metro network

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project info:

location: paris, france
competition: 2014, first prize
plaza area: 4842 sqm
built area: 4911 sqm
organizer: société du grand paris
architect: benedetta tagliabue – miralles tagliabue EMBT
local architects: anna maria bordas + miquel peiro – bordas+peiro
project directors: elena nedelcu, karl unglaub – miralles tagliabue EMBT
design team: gaia cella , marzia faranda, ana fernández, gaspar canepa, arturo mc clean, gabriela cruz, almudena rodríguez, mireia garcía, arantxa picard, shalini moodley, zhao zhuoran, yuliya yudchenko, yilun wu, dion corbett, alessandra magnetti, thomas hostache, silvia calabresi. stefan geenen, pedro del corral, ilaria egidi, anna marcassoli, ana maria manteigas, flavie caroukis
economist: bureau michel forgues
acoustic consultant: AVLS
lighting designer: dumas lumiere, marc dumas
fire security consultant: casso & associes
energy consultant: arbor & sens
sociologist: acadie
infographics designer: PLAY-TIME architectonic image
artist: jorge rodríguez gerada