The Flickr Paris Image Generatr

10/7/2024 -- View of the River Seine from the Pont de Bir Hakeim in Paris.

10/7/2024 -- Metro train crossing the Pont de Bir Hakeim in Paris.

Rue d'Amsterdam

Taken in the 8th arrondissement, Paris

Walking around the Institut du Monde Arabe, I was drawn to how its famous facade catches the light. I wanted to isolate just one corner of the building against a dark background to highlight the intricate mechanical diaphragms that make this structure so unique.
By shooting from this angle and eliminating any context or sky, I tried to transform the familiar architectural landmark into something more abstract and graphic. The diagonal composition adds some dynamism to what would otherwise be a regular grid pattern.
What fascinates me about this building is how it merges technology with traditional Arabic design influences. These mechanical apertures aren't just decorative - they're functional elements that control light entering the building, inspired by traditional moucharabieh screens.
The subtle blue tones against the black background weren't planned but ended up enhancing the technical, almost sci-fi quality of the structure. Sometimes architecture is at its most interesting when viewed as pure pattern and texture rather than as a complete building.

Paris (F)

Photo of Îlot 8

Îlot 8 de la ZAC Basilique, a social housing complex in the brutalist style, designed by Renée Gailhoustet and built 1975-86.
The area was originally classified as "insalubre" ("unsanitary" or "insalubrious") in 1945, identified as a slum in 1965, and demolished by 1974. The area was made into a 'Zone d'Aménagement Concerté' (ZAC) and designed to hold shops and 182 apartments.

Îlot 8 is probably the most accomplished collective housing project carried out by Renée Gailhoustet in the second half of the 20th century, in the characteristic spirit that she initiated with Jean Renaudie. It features the main qualities of this revolutionary architecture: typological variation, functional diversity, clustering of dwellings, green terraces, pedestrianization and street complexity, as well as a theatricalization of the pathways. The neighborhoods designed by Gailhoustet bear a trademark that makes them easily recognizable. The paths are winding, the buildings angular, and the vegetation is abundant and interwoven with the buildings. The polygonal patterns that structure the whole ensure that no two apartments are alike.
In Saint-Denis, this formula, which has already proven itself in Ivry-sur-Seine and Aubervilliers, is enriched by an additional quality: the location of the new district, in the very center of the historic city. A few dozen meters from the covered market, the town hall and the basilica, necropolis of the kings of France, Îlot 8 is part of an exceptional heritage context. The creation of the neighborhood between 1975 and 1986 was mainly a reflection of the political will to provide workers' housing in the city center, and not on the outskirts, as was often the case. The complex was built on the site of a slum area adjacent to the basilica. This old building, poorly maintained, squatted in and impoverished, sometimes dating back to the Middle Ages, was demolished in the early 1970s with no consideration for its heritage value. It was not until 2010 that a “suspended demolition” project by Loïc Julienne and Pier Schneider, centered around a medieval frame in a building doomed to disappear, led to a heightened awareness of the heritage value of the old buildings in old Saint-Denis.
If Renée Gailhoustet agrees to build in place of the old town, she does so in the belief that the neighborhood she is creating will reflect the characteristics of the medieval city. The narrowness of the pedestrian streets and the proliferation of pathways are reminiscent of the effects found in historical frameworks. In addition to this added value for the heritage, the commercial program of Îlot 8 is adjacent to the Saint-Denis market, the busiest in France, housed in a renovated hall that was originally inaugurated in 1893. The shopping center of Îlot 8 is thriving. Far from the empty galleries that are often found in this type of facility, here we find a dynamic commercial ecosystem, in tune with the population of the municipality.
Saint-Denis, first a market town, then a working-class and industrial town, is today a multicultural town. The shopping center of Îlot 8 reflects this, constituting the de facto town center of a diverse community. All the components are in place for this complex to prosper, and that is precisely what has happened. While other large brutalist complexes raise questions about their viability, this one seems to be functioning, as its characteristics seems to be in tune with the urban context in which it is located. A bookshop, an art house cinema and a large supermarket add to the added value of the mixed neighborhood.
[by Christophe Catsaros for arc en rêve]

Taken in Saint-Denis arrondissement, Paris

Photo of Îlot 8

Îlot 8 de la ZAC Basilique, a social housing complex in the brutalist style, designed by Renée Gailhoustet and built 1975-86.
The area was originally classified as "insalubre" ("unsanitary" or "insalubrious") in 1945, identified as a slum in 1965, and demolished by 1974. The area was made into a 'Zone d'Aménagement Concerté' (ZAC) and designed to hold shops and 182 apartments.

Îlot 8 is probably the most accomplished collective housing project carried out by Renée Gailhoustet in the second half of the 20th century, in the characteristic spirit that she initiated with Jean Renaudie. It features the main qualities of this revolutionary architecture: typological variation, functional diversity, clustering of dwellings, green terraces, pedestrianization and street complexity, as well as a theatricalization of the pathways. The neighborhoods designed by Gailhoustet bear a trademark that makes them easily recognizable. The paths are winding, the buildings angular, and the vegetation is abundant and interwoven with the buildings. The polygonal patterns that structure the whole ensure that no two apartments are alike.
In Saint-Denis, this formula, which has already proven itself in Ivry-sur-Seine and Aubervilliers, is enriched by an additional quality: the location of the new district, in the very center of the historic city. A few dozen meters from the covered market, the town hall and the basilica, necropolis of the kings of France, Îlot 8 is part of an exceptional heritage context. The creation of the neighborhood between 1975 and 1986 was mainly a reflection of the political will to provide workers' housing in the city center, and not on the outskirts, as was often the case. The complex was built on the site of a slum area adjacent to the basilica. This old building, poorly maintained, squatted in and impoverished, sometimes dating back to the Middle Ages, was demolished in the early 1970s with no consideration for its heritage value. It was not until 2010 that a “suspended demolition” project by Loïc Julienne and Pier Schneider, centered around a medieval frame in a building doomed to disappear, led to a heightened awareness of the heritage value of the old buildings in old Saint-Denis.
If Renée Gailhoustet agrees to build in place of the old town, she does so in the belief that the neighborhood she is creating will reflect the characteristics of the medieval city. The narrowness of the pedestrian streets and the proliferation of pathways are reminiscent of the effects found in historical frameworks. In addition to this added value for the heritage, the commercial program of Îlot 8 is adjacent to the Saint-Denis market, the busiest in France, housed in a renovated hall that was originally inaugurated in 1893. The shopping center of Îlot 8 is thriving. Far from the empty galleries that are often found in this type of facility, here we find a dynamic commercial ecosystem, in tune with the population of the municipality.
Saint-Denis, first a market town, then a working-class and industrial town, is today a multicultural town. The shopping center of Îlot 8 reflects this, constituting the de facto town center of a diverse community. All the components are in place for this complex to prosper, and that is precisely what has happened. While other large brutalist complexes raise questions about their viability, this one seems to be functioning, as its characteristics seems to be in tune with the urban context in which it is located. A bookshop, an art house cinema and a large supermarket add to the added value of the mixed neighborhood.
[by Christophe Catsaros for arc en rêve]

Taken in Saint-Denis arrondissement, Paris