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Bruit
du Frigo

April 2016


Place de la laïcité

Quai André Citroën, 15th Arrondissement

Paris

La Place de la Laïcité (square of secularism) in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, located at the entrance to the Parc André Citroën, is a public space “wedged” between the RER C train tracks that run along the Seine and the Canal+ TV building. It partly covers the expressway hopper on the Quai André Citroën. 

 

This isolated space, in bad condition, offers at first sight few resources to make it a common and shared place, echoing the values of secularism. 

However, this is the challenge : to transform this anonymous place into a support for collective life and activities carried out with local associations.

The challenge consists in combining the constraints of the place (obsolete equipment and consequent dimensions, a square cut off from the neighbourhood’s living spaces, noise pollution from the four-lane road) and its potential (proximity to a dense residential area, rich associative network, transitional passage to the Citroën Park, proximity to the banks of the Seine), in order to imagine daily uses and events.

 

We propose to build a structure at the back of the square to screen the noise and visual nuisance of the 4 lanes. This arch-shaped hybrid equipment combines a stage, an expression wall, a large table, a tree, planters and a small storage room.

Small furniture (deckchairs, tables, tree boxes) arranged more freely on the square completes the structure for more individual and spontaneous appropriations.




















































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At the crossroads of art, territories and populations, our approach aims to promote the transition to sustainable, shared and welcoming cities, by proposing alternative ways of imagining and building our living environment and by exploring new forms of public space.