Gare emblématique du Grand Paris Le Bourget Paris | Elizabeth de Portzamparc

Following the international competition of contemporary architecture that has gathered great names such as Norman Foster and UN Studio, Elizabeth de Portzamparc was chosen
to realize the Railway station of le Bourget, one of the four most iconic stations of the “Grand Paris” .

The Grand Paris new metropolitan’s station, located in Le Bourget, will become the entry point of the city. Its history and its economy are strongly related to aviation, to have hosted the first French civil airport in 1919, and receive every two years the prestigious International Air Show, one of the most major international events in the sector, and the Aerospace Museum.
Connected to the Grand Paris Express (GPE), the future regional urban center, in junction with the international airport hub, will be fully integrated to the Grand Paris network. It will be a strategic site for the articulation of the three communes: Le Bourget, Drancy and La Courneuve.

The new station will become a metropolitan hub, connecting different means of transport at different scales: local, regional, national, and international. It will help to develop a more efficient network while achieving economies of scale through the concentration of resources and effective interconnections.

The architecture of the station responds to the identity of the city. The sloped pitched roof intersection enables the integration of the strong differences of level within the new site, and, incorporates efficiently a space to receive the future platforms of the TEN (Tram Express Nord).
The dynamic of these roofs strengthen the idea of movement and mobility relative to train stations.

It also evokes the notion of aviation, deeply rooted in the history of le Bourget.
The equipment accessibility is designed to be intuitive, efficient and to optimize the rail access to five different means of transport. A large forecourt with a gentle slope will serve the two levels of the stations and will become a new urban forum to animate and to improve the local residents’ quality of life.

The underground platforms were designed under the principle of «total flex”, where the interior structures can be extended in length, height and partially in width and allow the venue of future programming (small businesses at the docks level, connection with other modes of transport, extension of the railway network such as the metro line 7, annex the TEN higher platforms, etc).

The combination of wood, warm colors and the strong presence of nature is changing the station into a user-friendly environment with a sensorial atmosphere. The principle of the great English court avoiding the feeling of «basement effect» brings natural light down to the underground platforms.
The interior architecture is sober and ease the implementation of the signage identity network. An heavier atmosphere would distract the signage system and the identity of the Grand Paris Express.
Prolonging the theory of Elizabeth de Portzamparc on the towns and cities’ identity, already expressed in her tramway station project in Bordeaux, this ”forum-station” and its equipment cannot be reduced to its technical or functional versatility, but should be apprehended as a project that fully carries the symbolic identity of the city without neglecting the human scale.