Réinventer Paris: A Concert Venue And Food Hall By Shigeru Ban

The japanese architect Shigeru Ban is among the designers chosen as part of Réinventer Paris — a competition, that we have previously introduced here, for contemporary urban projects that aimed to shape the future of the French capital. The competition sought designs to revive 23 sites throughout the city of Paris, giving designers the power to rethink and reshape the way locals live, work and play.

In fact, it includes 23 schemes situated on various sites chosen for development by Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo. Architecture studios were invited to submit ideas for each of the plots, before being evaluated by an international panel.

As part of the project’s competition stage, Shigeru Ban has now unveiled his proposal and it turns out to be a design for an area of land in Paris’ 4th arrondissement. Shigeru Ban’s proposal presents a fully glazed façade to the street, existing in harmony with surrounding buildings.

The glassy ceilings allow the open space to have plenty of natural light, while the archways make the place more invinting and visually appealing. At the rear of the site, a large café and market is contained beneath an undulating timber canopy that references the forms and materials often associated with Ban’s work.

A large egg-shaped volume appears at the center of the design, containing programs that require less daylight and more privacy — such as concerts and various exhibitions.

At night, the illuminated building stands as a beacon on the banks of the river Seine, drawing in passersby.

This illustration details the layout of the proposal. All 23 winning proposals of the competition can be viewed here.

Shigeru Ban is a japanese architect, known for his innovative work with paper, particularly recycled cardboard tubes used to quickly and efficiently house disaster victims. He was profiled by Time magazine in their projection of 21st century innovators in the field of architecture and design. In 2014, Ban was named the 37th recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the most prestigious prize in modern architecture.