1. Le métro Guimard, 1931-1933, Brassaï (Photographer), Paris, Centre Pompidou - MNAM - CCI.
Dynamic movement : exploring the metro of Grand Paris
Celebrating the Inauguration of the first métro line and the construction of the Grand Paris Express, the Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine, and the Société du Grand Paris unveil an exhibition spotlighting the Metro, its historical journey, and the profound urban metamorphoses it catalyzes.
The first metro line and it's complex history
2. Station "Concorde" (1er-8ème arrondissement), Rue de Rivoli. Achèvement du tablier métallique. Charles Maindron (1861-1940), photographe, 25 juillet 1899, Tirage moderne (2023). Collection Groupe RATP
The Paris metropolitan network traces its roots through decades of deliberation, diverse proposals, and conflicts between the State and the Paris city hall. The State advocated for an extensive underground network connecting major rail networks, while the city hall favored a smaller-scale system serving only the inner city. Eventually, influenced by the implantation of the 1900 Universal Exhibition, the authorities embarked on constructing the metro.
The master plan of Pari’s city hall is made by Fulgence Bienvenüe and Edmond Huet. Later adopted by the public services, the declaration of the "metropolitan railway" as a public utility was concluded in 1898.
Line one construction commenced in October 1898, with the city hall handling infrastructure while the concessionaire managed superstructures. The line was completed in a record of twenty months, with operations initiated in June 1900, strategically connecting sites of the Universal Exhibition and the 1900 Olympic Games, which opened to the public in July of the same year.
Inaugurated with eight stations, the line gradually expanded to eighteen, each bearing the architectural imprint of Hector Guimard. While the municipally received 21 propositions for the design of the stations, coming from numerous architects and designers, the project of Guimard was influenced by political decision and collaboration with the neighbouring countries of Europe.
He designed what would be a glassy and bright, but also immediately identifiable metro station composed of cast iron, a metal widely used in the 19th century in construction, because it lends itself to all shapes and offers a relatively low cost.
Inspired by his work and the Art Nouveau movement, several types of shelters were designed: with or without a roof, with lamps that resemble flowers in buds. At the time, 166 access points were created between 1900 and 1922. Today, most of them disappeared, but they have been protected by French cultural law since 1978.
The local interest network, featuring electric traction and standardized specifications, comprised six lines with additional options. A partnership between the City and the Compagnie Générale de Traction set forth the construction timeline, with the first three lines slated for completion within eight years.
Numerous evolutions came to be over the years, such as the use of electrical power in March 1901, the composition of the train cars, from three to eight cars in 1902. And finally the introduction of longer trains with "small compartments" in the 1920s.
The evolution of the network
3. Perspectives de l'œuvre de l'artiste Eva Jospin recouvrant une façade de la gare Hôpital Bicêtre (Viguier arch.), ligne 14, 2016. © ADAGP, Paris/Eva Jospin & Jean-Paul Viguier/Société du Grand Paris
The new construction site, named the "Grand Paris express" is a hub of innovation and engineering. With 23 tunnels boring machines which carve out 200 kilometers of rail tracks and the reuse of 47 million tonnes of excavated material.
The Grand Paris Express is Europe's largest civil engineering project, with two-thirds of humanity residing in cities by 2050, the project reflect on the urban dynamics of today and tomorrow.
As the metro reshapes the cityscape, architects grapple with station identities and integration.
The Grand Paris Express stations promise a unique fusion of art and architecture, most of them showcasing a work of art. Eva Jospin is one of them. She's a French Born artist, and her artistic repertoire revolves around the recurring motif of forests and landscapes. Using cardboard as her medium, she crafts installations and sculptures, she layers and adheres cut cardboard pieces to construct dense forest portions.
In her own words, "My forest is totally mental. It is not figurative. It reflects human concerns: the idea of losing oneself or finding oneself, our relationship with childhood tales, like Bambi or Hansel and Gretel, to archaic fears... My forests are conducive to mental escape."
For one of the newest metro stations, she collaborates with architect Jean-Paul Viguier on the Kremlin-Bicêtre Hôpital station project, featuring an exterior and interior division. The exterior showcases a concrete rock facade adorned with bronze vines, crafted from cardboard models, a favored material of the artist.
The station and pop culture
Similar to cinema, the metro serves as a vision. A pivotal moment in the visitor's journey, a projection chamber which juxtaposes iconic scenes that have elevated metro locations into dramatic spaces.
Amidst the fragmented rhythms of the stations, cinema embeds itself in passengers daily routines to disrupt them. Caught between the mundanity of everyday life and the anticipation of new journeys, the metro paradoxically symbolizes both the monotony of daily alienation, spontaneous exploration, etc.
Cinema celebrates the dreamlike allure of this mysterious underworld, imbuing solitary passengers with fantastical imagery that ignites reverie. The camera showcases our imagination's prowess, transforming seemingly vacant spaces into secret worlds teeming with life.
Informations about the exhibition
Place: Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine
Date: 8.11.2023 – 2.6.2024
Curators: Dominique Perrault, Francis Rambert & Jean-Marc Hofman
Ticket: Available at the front desk of the museum
Informations about the Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine
Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine
1 Place du Trocadéro
75116 Paris
Phone: +33 (0)1 58 51 52 00