Banner
Banner Banner

Share |

French Architecture, Images, Architects, Developments France, Property, Info, Designs, News

French Buildings : Architectural Information + Photos

Key Architectural Projects in France, Europe



Diriger aux Bâtiments de Francais

We have 2 pages of French Architecture selections with links to hundreds of individual project pages. This page lists the principal French buildings in the major cities. The second page (linked below in bold) lists key French buildings outwith the major cities. We aim to select buildings in France that are either of top quality or interesting or ideally both.

French Building - Latest Designs + Building Additions

Narbonne Museum, southern France
Foster + Partners
Musée de la Romanitée Narbonne
image : Foster + Partners

Musée de la Romanitée Narbonne - 17 May 2012
Following an international competition, Foster + Partners, working with museum designer Adrien Gardere, is designing a new museum for Roman artefacts in the city of Narbonne.
As a vital Roman port, Narbonne has an impressive legacy of buildings, ancient relics and archaeological sites. The centrepiece of the museum is a collection of more than 1,000 ancient stone relief funerary blocks excavated nearby. Their display forms a natural barrier at the heart of the simple, rectilinear building, separating the public galleries from the more private restoration spaces. Visitors will be able to glimpse the work of the archaeologists and researchers through its mosaic of stone and light, and the flexible display framework allows the reliefs to be easily reconfigured and used as an active tool for learning.

Scenographic Huts, Briançon, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, south east France - 4 May 2012
Hérault Arnod Architectes
Scenographic Huts
image : Hérault Arnod Architectes

At the request of Isabelle de Beaufort, we have created a stage set for her “Neige de Culture” project on the Serre-Chevalier ski slopes. The aim of “Neige de Culture” is to provide themed cultural itineraries on subjects such as the history of the Romans in the Alps or from Vauban to Briançon. The stories that unfold during these itineraries are underpinned by stage scenery elements such as huts, totem poles and triangulation rocks.

Modern Music Centre Evreux, Northern France - 4 May 2012
Hérault Arnod Architectes
Contemporary Music Centre Evreux
image : Labtop-rendering

This Contemporary Music Centre is a new kind of musical complex, consisting of two auditoriums of very different kinds, linked by a public space called the deck, running from one side of the building to the other. It is designed on the principle that, instead of being mere consumers of entertainment, people can construct their own evening, which requires a distinctive spatial layout.

La Maison des Etudiants, Grenoble, south east France - 23 Apr 2012
Hérault Arnod Architectes
La Maison des Etudiants Grenoble
photo © André Morin

La Maison des Etudiants is a student residence built in the 1930s. It is an eight-storey building, sober in style and with a plain facade, part of the skyline of the Grands Boulevard, a distinctive urban feature of the city of Grenoble. Originally, the building had fairly spacious rooms but only basic facilities, with communal showers and bathrooms.

The Metaphone - Oignies, north east France - 23 Apr
Hérault Arnod Architectes
The Metaphone Oignies
image : Thomas Seriès - Labtop, Hérault Arnod

The Metaphone is the contemporary keystone of the whole project, embodying the site’s new musical and acoustic role. An architecture of materials, sound and light, it is the emblematic space of 9 – 9bis

BT01 Offices Building, Oignies - 23 Apr
Hérault Arnod Architectes
BT01 Offices Building Oignies building
photo © André Morin

The first completed part of the 9/9bis mine conversion project in Oignies is this small office building. It is the first part of “Bois du Métaphone”, a set of structures intended for offices and a hotel.

Musée des Beaux-arts Reims, north east France - 11 Apr 2012
X-TU, Architects
Musée des Beaux-arts Reims building
image from architects

Competition for the Arts Museum of Reims
Total floor area: 13,700 m² SHON
Cost: 35,000,000 €

The Scarab Building, central France - added 5 Apr
SAREA Alain Sarfati Architecture
The Scarab Building
photo : Philippe Ruault

Architecture can be a magnet, "a strange magnet"; especially if it concerns a public utility, if the establishment hosts cultural, sporting and economic events or is used quite simply for entertainment. Through its form and radiance and the image it gives out, the place created from symbolic identity becomes a medium of social connection. This is what the Scarab, a creation by ALAIN SARFATI for the Urban Community of Roanne, offers.

Gentilly Building, south Paris - 16 Mar
ecdm
Gentilly Building
picture from architects


Groupe scolaire Lucie Aubrac, Nanterre, north west Paris - 16 Mar
Dietmar Feichtinger Architectes
Groupe scolaire Lucie Aubrac
photograph from architects

The school is distinguished by its spatial organization and design of the facades of their surroundings. The free form differentiates the building from its environnement of rigid social housing characterizing the area ‘Province de France’ in Nanterre.

La Grande Motte Montpellier, south east of Montpellier - 12 Mar
N+B Architectes
La Grande Motte Building Montpellier
photograph : Paul Kozlowski

La Grande Motte city, situated at the edge of the Mediterranean Sea, benefits from a soft and moderate climate. The project of construction of new offices for the technical services of the city of La Grande Motte takes place in a very widely afforested ground. It is a remarkable environment, thanks to the natural elements that surrounds it.

Marseille Vieux Port Masterplan, southern France - 8 Mar
Foster + Partners
Marseille Vieux Port Masterplan
image : Foster + Partners

Marseille’s Vieux Port, one of the great Mediterranean ports, is about to be transformed. Work has started on Michel Desvigne's and Foster + Partners’ competition-winning masterplan for its regeneration. The project will reclaim the quaysides as a civic space, creating new informal venues for performances and events and removing traffic to create a safe, semi-pedestrianised public realm.

French Building - Recent Designs

Beaugrenelle Shopping Mall, Paris - 17 Feb
Agence Search
Shopping Centre France
image from architects

In today’s increasingly competitive environment, the architecture of shopping malls has come to play a fundamental role in their commercial success. Architecture can distinguish the shopping environment to create a sense of specificity, of differentiation.

Zap'Ados, Calais, northern France - 16 Feb
Bang Architectes
French Skatepark Building
photograph : Julien Lanoo

The builidng is located along a canal in the former industrial district of Calais. It continues the urban renewal initiated by La Cité de la Dentelle (by Moatti & Rivière Architects) located a hundred meters downstream. In this bleak urban landscape, the conversion of the existing industrial building has to be visible.

Mantes-la-Jolie Aquacenter, nr Paris, northern France - 23 Jan
Agence SEARCH
Mantes-la-Jolie Aquacenter
photo © Michel Denancé

This new French building is emblematic of urban renewal in the Val-Fourré public housing projets. Located in the neighborhood “Quartier des Peintres”, known for its problematic social and urban environment, the new buildings are the latest in a series of programs dating back over a decade.

Origami Building, Paris - 4 Jan
Manuelle Gautrand
Origami Building
© Manuelle Gautrand Architect. photo Vincent Fillon

French Architecture

We've selected what we feel are the major French Buildings, in chronological order:

Eiffel Tower, Paris (1889)
Villa Savoie, Poissy (1929)
Villa Stein, Garches (1927)
Unité d'Habitation, Marseille (1952)
Chapel of Notre Dame du Haut, Ronchamp (1955)
Maisons Jaoul, Neuilly-sur-Seine (1956)
La Tourette Monastery, Lyon (1957)
Pompidou Centre, Paris (1976)
The Pantheon, Paris (1790)
The Louvre Museum Pyramid, Paris (1989)
Arab du Monde lnstitute, Paris (1988)
Carré d'Art, Nîmes (1993)
Millau Viaduct, Gorge du Tarn (2005)

Comments on the French architecture selection welcome. These French buildings are not selected due to their fame - we've left out the Louvre and the Arc de Triomphe - but because each in its way achieved a milestone and signified strong creative achievement.

We cover completed French buildings, new building designs, French architectural exhibitions and design competitions across France.

OTHER - IE OUTWITH MAJOR CITIES

French Architecture : A-K

French Building Designs : L-Z

Contemporary French Architecture - Key Developments

Arranged by city / area alphabetically - with the French capital first

PARIS
Paris Buildings

Key French buildings, in Paris:

Bibliothèque Nationale Paris
Dominique Perrault Architects
Bibliotheque Nationale
picture © Georges Fessy / DPA / ADAGP

 
C42 Citroen display building
Manuelle Gautrand
C42 CitroenParis
photo : Philippe Ruault

 
Centre George Pompidou
Richard Rogers / Renzo Piano
Pompidou Centre Paris
photo © Adrian Welch

 
Cite des Sciences architecture
Ian Ritchie Architects
Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie
photograph : Ian Ritchie Architects

 
ENERGY + office building
SOM Architects
ENERGY + building Paris
image : pmBdesign

 
Fondation Imagine
Ateliers Jean Nouvel / Valero Gadan
Fondation Imagine Paris
image © Ateliers Jean Nouvel / Valero Gadan

 
Institut du Monde Arabe
Jean Nouvel, Architect
Institut du Monde Arabe Paris
picture © Adrian Welch

 
Maison de L'UNESCO
Marcel Breuer & Pier Luigi Nervi
UNESCO Building Paris
image © Isabelle Lomholt

 
MBA Building Paris
David Chipperfield Architects
MBA Building Paris
picture : David Chipperfield Architects

 
Musée du Louvre
various architects
Musée du Louvre Paris
photo © Adrian Welch

 
Musée du quai Branly
Jean Nouvel, Architect
Musée du quai Branly Paris
picture © Adrian Welch

 
Pajol sports centre
Brisac Gonzalez Architects
Pajol sports centre
photo : Sally Spencer Davies

 
The Phare
Morphosis
The Phare Paris
image from architect

 
Philharmonie de Paris
Ateliers Jean Nouvel
Philharmonie de Paris
picture © Jean Nouvel

 
Pyramide du Louvre
I.M. Pei & Partners
Louvre Pyramid
image © Adrian Welch

 
Renaissance Paris Wagram Hotel
Atelier Christian de Portzamparc
Paris Hotel Building
image from architect

 
Sacre Coeur Paris
Paul Abadie, Architect
Sacré Coeur
picture © Adrian Welch

 
Société Générale tower
Atelier Christian de Portzamparc
French skyscraper building
picture from architect

 
Tour Carpe Diem building
Robert A.M. Stern Architects
Tour Carpe Diem Paris
image : studio amd for Robert A.M. Stern Architects
Tour Eiffel
Gustave Eiffel
Eiffel Tower Paris
photo © Adrian Welch

Tour Montparnasse : French skyscraper

Paris Architects

French Architecture - continued

BORDEAUX
Bordeaux Architecture

Maison at Bordeaux
Rem Koolhaas
Maison Bordeaux
French house photo : Hans Werlemann

Bordeaux house

Bastide Niel
MVRDV
Bastide Niel
picture from architects

Bastide Niel

CAEN
Caen Library Building
OMA
Caen Library
image © OMA

Caen Library

CANNES
Cannes Architecture

DUNKIRK
Grand Large Dunkirk
ANMA/Agence Nicolas Michelin & Associés
Grand Large Dunkirk
photograph : Stéphane Chalmeau


GRENOBLE
Grenobles Buildings

GMCD Building, Grenoble
Hérault Arnod Architectes
GMCD
photo : Thomas Seriès-auralab, Hérault Arnod
GMCD Grenoble

LILLE
Lille Buildings
 
Lille Metropole museum
Manuelle Gautrand
Lille Metropole museum building
photo : Max Lerouge

Lille Metropole museum
Lille Office Building
LAN Architecture
Lille Office Building
picture from architect

Lille Office Building

LIMOGES
Limoges Architecture

Concert Hall building
Bernard Tschumi Architects
Limoges Concert Hall
photo : Christian Richters

Limoges concert hall

LYON
Lyon Buildings
 
 
The Orange Cube
Jakob + Macfarlane
The Orange Cube France
photo : Nicolas Borel

The Orange Cube Lyon
 
 
Docks Quay Rambaud
Odile Decq Benoît Cornette
Lyons Docks building
image © Odile Decq - Labtop

Lyons Docks building
Monolith in Lyon
Designed by Erick van Egeraat + others
Monolith in Lyon
image © Designed by Erick van Egeraat

Monolith in Lyon

MARSEILLES
Marseilles Developments

METZ
Metz Buildings

MONTPELLIER
Montpellier Buildings

Key French buildings, in Montpellier:
 
 
Lironde Gardens
Christian de Portzamparc
Lironde Gardens
photo from architect

 
Pierre Vives Project
Zaha Hadid
Montpellier building
picture from ZHA

 
RBC Design Center, Montpellier
Ateliers Jean Nouvel
RBC Design Center
image © Ateliers Jean Nouvel
ZAC Port Marianne development
Du Besset-Lyon Architectes
Montpellier apartment building
photo from architect

NANTES
Nantes Architecture

Nantes Tripode Buildings
Christian de Portzamparc
Nantes Building
image from architect

Nantes Tripode

NICE
Nice Architecture

NIMES
Nimes Architecture

Key French buildings, in Nimes:
 
 
Carré d’Art Building
Foster + Partners
Carre d’Art Nimes
photo : Nigel Young, Foster & Partners

Carre d’Art Nimes
Max’s house in a small lake, nr Nîmes
Antonino Cardillo
Nimes house
image from architect

Nîmes house

RENNES
Multiplex Europalaces Gaumont
Christian de Portzamparc
Rennes building
image from architect

Rennes building

SAINT-ETIENNE
Saint-Étienne Architecture

Key French buildings, in St. Etienne:
 
 
Zenith Saint-Etienne Building
Foster + Partners
Zenith Saint-Etienne
photo : Nigel Young
Cité du Design
LIN, Finn Geipel + Giulia Andi
Saint-Étienne building
photo © LIN Finn Geipel + Giulia Andi

STRASBOURG
Strasbourg Architecture

Key French buildings, in Strasbourg:
 
 
Hoenheim Nord Terminus
Zaha Hadid Architects
Strasbourg architecture
image from architect

 
New General Building of Council of Europe
Art & Build Architect
Strasbourg building
picture from architect

 
Zenith Music Hall Strasbourg
Massimiliano Fuksas Architecture
Zenith Music Hall Strasbourg
photograph : Moreno Maggi
 

TOULOUSE

Parc des Expositions
OMA
Parc des Expositions Toulouse
image © OMA

Parc des Expositions Toulouse
 

French Architecture welcome: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it



 




French Houses I Toulouse Architecture I Somme Buildings

Villa in the Var: French home

French Hotel Architecture - design by Steven Holl

Maison de Verre : Modern French house

French Music Hall Building - design by Hérault Arnod Architectes

French Architecture photographs © adrian welch / isabelle lomholt unless otherwise stated

Buildings / photos for the French Architecture pages welcome: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

French Buildings - page : adrian welch / isabelle lomholt

 




Search this site