Transforming Paris Through Innovative Urban Projects

Glamour, romance and indulgence may be words that every tourist apreciates when defining Paris, but for those who actually live there, all that has a price. It’s no secret that apartments in the City of Lights, like many cosmopolitan cities around the world, are very expensive, and so “A city like Paris must be able to reinvent itself particularly in terms of housing” as the city mayor Anne Hidalgo has once said.

For that reason, Réinventer Paris had its debut and started gaining expression: a competition for contemporary urban projects that aimed to shape the future of the French capital.

In this competition, and from the many participants, there is one that is on the spotlight: a design by Marin + Trottin Architecture. This design was created with the goal of representing the various ways that the city locals are living today. The result comes together almost as if it were a game of architectural tetris, with units of different shapes and sizes built next to, and on top of, one another.

Titled Paris par nous, Paris pour nous, it plans a residential building in the 13th arrondissement that would offer multiple types of housing to meet the needs of a diverse group of residents. This means that we can find everything, for every profile, for every budget: From smaller studio units for younger or less affluent patrons, to two-bedroom or larger abodes for growing families, to mansion-style apartments for wealthy buyers.

On the February 4th, at an exhibition in the Pavillon de l’Arsenal, the winners of the Réinventer Paris competition will be announced. Their proposals, along with those of all 74 finalists, will be publicly presented.