New urban planning in Paris - around the National Library

The Paris Rive Gauche operation is a vast urban redevelopment project, transforming 130 hectares of former industrial and railway wastelands into a modern district. Launched in the 1990s by SEMAPA, this operation extends from Austerlitz station to the périphérique ring road. The project enabled the creation of the Bibliotheque Nationale (National Library), the establishment of Paris Diderot University, and the covering of railway tracks to reconnect this territory with the rest of the city.

Paris Rive Gauche combines housing (including a significant amount of social housing), offices, shops, and public facilities in a logic of urban diversity. This project, still being completed, has transformed a once-isolated area into a dynamic district, integrating the enhancement of the Seine riverbanks and creating a new center of attraction in eastern Paris.

Projects (excerpt)

National Library
This is the "flagship project" of the new "Paris Rive Gauche" district and a "Grand Project" from the Mitterrand era.

Simone de Beauvoir Footbridge by Dietmar Feichtinger
A footbridge with a span of 190 m, consisting of two synergistic elements, a very slender arch and a catenary suspension, which crosses the river, its banks, and high-speed tracks in a single stretch, without intermediate pillars.

StationF, Freysinnet and Wilmotte & Associates
A startup campus in a concrete hall from 1927 renovated by Wilmotte & Associates.

New Districts and New Urbanism
Paris Rive Gauche is divided into several districts entrusted to different urban planners including Christian de Portzamparc and Atelier Lion.

New University Campus
Discover the new university campus and the rehabilitations of old Parisian mills by Rudy Riciotti and Nicolas Michelin.

Home by Hammonic and Masson
"Home" is the first residential 'tower' built in Paris since the 1970s. It therefore carries great responsibility as the flagship of the new approach to vertical housing in urban environments.

Biodiversity Tower by Édouard François
This tower is covered with plants from wild natural areas and serves as seeding tool: it allows the wind to disperse pure seeds into the urban environment.

Duo Tower by Ateliers Jean Nouvel
Composed of two towers of 180 and 122 meters in height, or 39 and 27 floors, this project includes a hotel, offices, a restaurant, and retail. The tallest tower is the third highest building in the capital.

Bruneseau
Around the Duo Towers, the Bruneseau district aims to reconnect Paris and Ivry with mixed-use buildings featuring high environmental performance, including several wooden constructions.