Les Olympiades is a neighbourhood located in the 13th district of Paris. Built in the 1970s as part of national measures aiming to carry out large-scale urban development projects, it bears witness to a period rich in architectural thought.
“The vastest urban development project since Hausmann”, this large complex was at the heart of the ideas and commitments to build a modern Paris. The name of the neighbourhood, Les Olympiades, is a reference to the Olympic Games, and all the buildings have the name of a past host city.
I chose this location for a photo series because I see this neighbourhood as an urban experience which is utterly unique in the Parisian context, in the sense that it incarnates “real Paris” while paradoxically being so little Parisian.
Real Paris because it withholds a diversity which is rare for a complex of this size, and it represents a side to Paris which is gradually being lost in a massively gentrified city.
So little Parisian through its urbanism which has become completely disconnected from the architectural fabric of the French capital: vertical buildings, the widespread use of concrete, square and linear facades, outside surfaces bare of any ornamental creativity, flat roofs. An urbanism which completely clashes with the Parisian aesthetic landscape as a whole.
Real Paris because it remains a quiet and relaxing cluster, where people like to stroll around, think and take their time, away from the constant hustle and bustle of the city.
So little Parisian through its tower and podium architecture, overlooking the city, which completely separates the flow of pedestrians and vehicles, freeing its 11,000 residents from the traffic.
Real Paris because it incarnates the idea of a city standing tall, looking out for the common good, conceiving and inventing new places of opportunity.
The Olympiades series is a collection of 158 film photographs taken between the summer of 2018 and the winter of 2020, 16 of which I have selected here.
