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The New Paris Underground: Mayoral Candidate Proposes Reusing Abandoned Subway Stations

The New Paris Underground: Mayoral Candidate Proposes Reusing Abandoned Subway Stations

Paris mayoral candidate Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet is attempting to forge a new underground scene in the French capital. In conjunction with her 2014 campaign the politician has commissioned a series of mock-ups that re-imagine abandoned subway stations as cultural and recreational gathering spaces. The designs were executed by Manal Rachdi of OXO architects + Nicolas Laisné from Laisné architecte urbaniste.

The renderings transform the Arsenal metro station, one of 16 dating between 1930 and 1970 to have either fallen out of use or never open following construction. While some of the their tracks still bear witness to train traffic and are used as dumping grounds for the Paris Metro, Kosciusko-Morizet is hoping to attract more than just subway cars and unused equipment to the stations.

The renderings show the transit catacombs filled with the likes of a theater, swimming pool, restaurant, nightclub, and sculpture gallery. Sleek visuals aside, questions about sanitation, safety, and even acoustics immediately come to mind when one considers the logistics of implementation. Ultimately the mayor hopes to create some kind of platform that would allow the public to submit ideas for the subterranean spaces.

The plan would not mark the first re-purposing of an out of use station, nor is it the only stab in recent weeks at giving new life to rusting public transportation infrastructure found within the city. Though the proposal has garnered a fair bit of buzz, any hopes of realization are contingent on Kosciusko-Morizet, a former minister of transport for the French government herself, actually ascending to the mayor’s office. For now the center-right candidate remains a firm second favorite behind her socialist adversary Anne Hidalgo.


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