Le Monde Paris Building, France, Architect, Architecture Images, Info, Date, Design

Paris Le Monde Building HQ

French Newspaper Headquarters design by Du Besset-Lyon Architectes

4 Jul 2008

Le Monde Headquarters building

Location: rue Falguière, Paris
Date: 1990
Design: Du Besset-Lyon Architectes

Headquarters of Le Monde

The geometry of the facades and the treatment of the light aim to express two ideas: on one hand, Le Monde is an institution, on the other, in its presentation, the newspaper is more preoccupied by content than form.

Linking the top and bottom of the building in a single curve allowed maximum use of the 22 m height limit authorised, without breaking the facade into one vertical part and one part set back from the road. Thus the edifice stands out in a narrow street. The two curves of the facades on the two streets function together, and create a volume that expresses the content.

The idea of content is also expressed by the light. At night, the entrance hall, rue Falguière, fills with blue light. By day, the light is reflected by the micromarbled glass texture of the yellow walls and the glass fragments in the floor. Only three metallic objects seem to float in this space: a serpent-shaped counter, an escalator, and six parallelepipeds which hang in a line under the ceiling. These hold the reference material of Le Monde.

Leading directly from the escalator is the central patio, a cubic crossroads for the five editorial levels. Its six sides are glass: its cover is a glass roof, its walls are transparent partitions, one wall is built of glass bricks, and the floor is in blocks of unpolished glass.

Le Monde Paris HQ – Building Information

Headquarters of « Le Monde » to Paris
Client: A. C. T. I. M. O.
Site: 13 – 15 rue Falguière, Paris 15° (75)
Competition: 1987
Program: – office space, Documentation’s centre, lobby
Constructions: Jun 1988 – Jan 1990
Surface area: 7,000 m²
Cost: 11.74 M€ ht (77 MF ht)
Team: Engineers: GII

Le Monde Paris Building images / information from Du Besset-Lyon Architectes 040708

Du Besset-Lyon Architectes

Location: 15 rue Falguière, Paris, France