Cultural Centre Austerlitz

The centre for the culture of spirit, mind and body, promoting the harmony of this threesome, should provide for the residents of the new blocks in the quarter built over the rail tracks, limited in height and depth. And promoting the urban equilibrium, it should reinforce the modernization of the East Paris, and connect the new Bibliotheque national de France with the Jardin des plantes and the Musee national d’histoire naturelle.

Bringing a new life into the long “tube” of the Magasins généraux – the first reinforced concrete building in France – on the very edge of the Seine, the centre is divided into three segments: the arts complex, the education and creative industry centre, and the sports centre, which correspond and interact mutually.

The axis Salpetriere – the Seine opens up the view from the church, over the tracks, to the river, and cuts through the body of the object creating a festive plaza for access to the universal halls (theatre, cinema, congresses, concerts) and their easy evacuation, suitable also for a summer stage in intimate contact with the water. This powerful urban staircase leads down to the river terrace and the passenger terminal.

A large public hall with an atrium on the opposite junction connects and separates the “mind” and the “body” in this linear sequence, making a direct link between the street level and the pedestrian terrace that flows along the building. The sports complex stresses again the proximity of the river; its indoor and outdoor swimming pools and solariums connect to the marina.