Atelier Zündel Cristea Paris metro expansion

Pont Cardinet, Porte de Clichy, Saint-Ouen and Mairie de Saint-Ouen are four new stations on line 14 of the Paris metro designed by Atelier Zündel Cristea with Architram architectes. The overall plan is to extend the infrastructure to the north, toward the town hall of Saint-Ouen, to mitigate passenger flows on line 13. The two metro lines converge in the emblematic Porte de Clichy station, the deepest of the four, built on six levels underground.

The plans for the four stations all shared a number of difficulties: first of all, the high urban density of the various areas they are built in, involving the simultaneous presence of a number of building sites, plus the complexities of working at a great depth. This led to difficulty transporting material to this low depth, a need for cathedral-like scaffolding and, last but not least, a need to build imposing walls fully 1.5 metres thick and 30 metres high to counteract the lateral thrust of the soil.

The stations were all designed as big volumes dug into the ground with structures crossing through them. First the outer walls were built with vertical concrete casts, then the spaces were hollowed out. Simplicity and robustness, with pared-down finishes appropriate for intensive use, are features shared by all the stations, but this did not prevent the architects from designing beautiful, spectacular spaces incorporating routes appropriate for large numbers of daily passengers, all centring around the humans who use and maintain the facilities. The result the architects of AZC were aiming for is offering travellers passing through a sensation of security while facilitating work on the infrastructure.

(Agnese Bifulco)

Images courtesy of AZC architectes photos by Sergio Grazia

Data sheet
Extension of Paris metro line 14, toward the Saint-Ouen town hall
Paris district 17 and Saint-Ouen
Client: RATP
User: RATP
Architects: AZC architectes (leading architect) + Architram architectes associés (associate architect) Team: Gwenäel Loubes, Alba Bui, Beatriz Gago Roncero, Nicolas Berdon, Petr Kalivoda, Radu Ungureanu, Roland Oberhofer, Jeremias Lorch (études) Margot Carrier, Daniel Corso, Michele Ciervo, Carol Fanjul, Romain Mathey, Eric Pitalieri, Theophilos Zachos, Philippe Mialhe (chantier)
Engineers: SYSTRA, BMF, Aartill, Batiserf
General constructors: Brézillon et Chantiers Modernes Construction
Program: 4 new metro stations for the Paris metro line 14
Calendar: 2012 - February 2021
Surface: 24,937 m² (total) including 4,300 m² (Pont Cardinet), 9,000 m² (Porte de Clichy), 5,000 m² (Saint-Ouen), 7,000 m² (Mairie de Saint-Ouen)
Cost: €68,500,000 excl. VAT
Environmental approach: geothermal heating, eco-conception and eco-acoustic
Photo credits: © Sergio Grazia

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