Photo of the Week
Another view of the Centre Pompidou. Photo © Darren Palmer of Paris by Photo.
Wednesday, 30 May 2012 00:00
Paris Update What's New in Paris
RESTAURANT/CLUB/CAFE
Wanderlust: Finally, part of Les Docks, Cité de la Mode et Design will open to the public on June 6. Brunch on the terrace, take a yoga class, take in a concert or dance all night. 34, quai d'Austerlitz, 75013 Paris.
SHOPS
Stella Cadente: The designer of very feminine clothing and accessories has a new Paris store that's like a gold-lined tunnel. 102 boulevard Beaumarchais, 75011 Paris.
Ecolo-Chic: Pop-up store in the Marais selling ethically resourced products, from toys and design to organic wine. 90, rue des Archives, 75003 Paris.
SMOKING
A new organization, L'Union pour les Droits des Fumeurs Adultes, has been formed to lobby for the rights of French smokers
JUSTIN ON THE ROOFTOPS
Keep your eyes peeled: Justin Bieber will be filming for the Web TV program live@home in an undisclosed location on the rooftops of Paris on the evening of May 31. Click here to win a pass to the taping.
Wednesday, 30 May 2012 00:00
Paris Update Flash News
CAKE THE WAY WE LIKE IT
Goodies on display at Merce and the Muse.
Nowadays, American expatriates in Paris can easily satisfy almost all their nostalgic food cravings, from hamburgers to Reese’s peanut-butter cups or Oreo cookies. Until Merce and the Muse opened in the Upper Marais, however, it wasn’t easy to find good homemade, American-style cakes. The desserts at this homey, flea-market-furnished café are not just good, they are scrumptious and original, made from owner Merce Muse’s own recipes. The other day I shared a slice of chocolate layer cake with vanilla icing and another of pistachio cake with rose icing with a friend, but in truth I wanted to eat all of both of them. 1 bis, rue Dupuis, 75003 Paris. Tel.: 09 53 14 53 04. Open Tues.-Sun. for breakfast, lunch and coffee; brunch on Sunday. Heidi Ellison
Paris Update This Week's Events
For full details about an event, click on its name to visit the official Web site (in English when available).
 Art Saint-Germain-des-Prés
>Left Bank gallery walk. Collective opening, May 31, 6pm. May 31-June 3.
Carré Rive Gauche
>Another Left Bank gallery walk, with 120 participating galleries. June 1-June 3.
Champs-Elysées Film Festival
>A new Franco-American film festival, presided over by Lambert Wilson and Michael Madsen. Various locations, Paris, June 6-12.
Chartre en Lumières
> The town of Chartres illuminates its monuments and the cathedral with colorful light installations. Through Sept. 15.
Designer's Days
>Design shops, galleries, schools and more participate in a city-wide design event. Various locations, Paris, May 31-June 4.
Festival de l'Imaginaire
> Performances by troupes from around the world, Maison des Cultures du Monde, Paris, through June 17.
Festival de Saint Denis
> Music festival featuring both stars like Sir Colin Davis and young talents; ends with a dawn performance by horse whisperer Bartabas and oud player Mehdi Haddab, Cathedral and Legion of Honor, Saint Denis, through June 30.
Festival Extensions
> Concerts, dance, films and more, various locations, Paris and Val de Marne, through May 31.
Festival International des Jardins de Chaumont-sur-Loire
>"Gardens of delights, gardens of delirium" is the theme of this year's garden festival, Chaumont-sur-Loire, through Oct. 21.
Festival Jazz à Saint-Germain-des-Prés
>Jazz acts ranging from amateur to big names like Ahmad Jamal and Yusef Lateef (together). Various locations, Paris, Through June 3.
Le Court en Dit Long
>Festival of short films. Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles, Paris, June 4-9.
Nomades
>Cultural festival in the third arrondissement; art, poetry, concerts and more. Various locations, Paris, May 31-June 3.
Quinzaine des Réalisateurs
>The features and short subjects entered in this category at the Cannes Film Festival shown in Paris, Forum des Images, Paris, May 31-June 10
Salon du Vin de La Revue du Vin de France
>Annual wine fair. Palais Brongniart, Paris, June 2-3
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Maison de Radio France
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Hot Topics
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/ Flash News
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Created on Tuesday, 10 May 2005 23:00
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Published on Tuesday, 03 July 2007 23:00
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Written by Heidi Ellison
A Modern Relic Preserved
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Architecture Studio's winning design for the €240 million renovation of the Maison de Radio France.
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Debate over Paris’s architectural landscape rages on. Following a general outcry against Mayor Bertrand Delanoë’s choice of David Mangin’s inoffensive design (over the more radical propositions of other architects, including Rem Koolhaas) for the rebuilding of the reviled Forum des Halles in the heart of the city, the argument continues over whether the city should preserve its architectural heritage (with the risk of becoming an urban museum) or allow the construction of more high-rises and buildings with daring designs.
One relic of modern architecture that is here to stay is the Maison de Radio France, an imposing, fortress-like structure in the form of a broken circle overlooking the Seine on the western side of the city. Designed by Henry Bernard and completed in 1963, the monumental building, highly controversial in its time, has been sanctified by time as part of the city’s architectural heritage.
The 110,000-square-meter building now requires massive renovations to bring it up to current safety standards, and the brief to the architects competing for the job also called for major restructuring to open up the building to the city on the Seine side, construct an underground parking garage, turn the central tower into office space (it now houses archives), improve circulation and the organization of work space, and create a new 1,500-seat auditorium. All this without radically changing the basic form of the now iconic building, which has become the symbol of Radio France.
The work, which must be done in stages and quietly (the sound of drilling must not go out over the airways of the government-owned radio stations housed in the building) will be done between 2006 and 2012 and is expected to cost an enormous 240 million euros, 26,000 million euros more than the cost of the new Musee du Quai Branly, which is now being built on the other side of the Seine.
The winner of the architectural competition for this massive project was Architecture Studio, a French collective of eight architects whose credits include the European Parliament building in Strasbourg, the Wison Chemical headquarters in Shanghai and the Onassis Foundation building in Athens, which is currently under construction.
The plans call for the creation of two esplanades, one behind the building and the other running down to the Seine, and gardens in the rest of the open spaces. The design lets in the light: glass corridors will be added to the inner façade of the main building, sparing employees and visitors the long trek through the building's dark, seemingly endless corridors, and glassed-in bridges on the fifth floor will connect the outer ring with the round central building.
Maison de Radio France: 116, avenue du President Kennedy, 75116 Paris
© 2005 Paris Update
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