Ideas to resurrect abandoned Paris metro stations

12/02/2014. By Manal Rachdi, OXO architectes & Nicolas Laisné Associés. [PAR] France
metalocus, INÉS LALUETA

Paris has a lot of stations closed and have new ideas to recover, from 'ghost' station to swimming pool, a theatre or a restaurant among ideas. A mayoral candidate in Paris wants to transform the city's abandoned metro stations. And like so many things Parisian, the ideas are getting attention worldwide.

Today the designs by French studios Oxo Architectes and Laisné Associés to renovate abandoned Metro stations in Paris.

Abandoned metro station, Paris, converted into an Art Gallery. Manal Rachdi, OXO architectes & Nicolas Laisné Associés.

Abandoned metro station, Paris, converted into an Art Gallery. Manal Rachdi, OXO architectes & Nicolas Laisné Associés.

Abandoned metro station, Paris, converted into a theatre. Manal Rachdi, OXO architectes & Nicolas Laisné Associés.

Abandoned metro station, Paris, converted into a garden. Manal Rachdi, OXO architectes & Nicolas Laisné Associés.

Abandoned metro station, Paris, converted into a Night club. Manal Rachdi, OXO architectes & Nicolas Laisné Associés.

Abandoned metro station, Paris, converted into a restaurant. Manal Rachdi, OXO architectes & Nicolas Laisné Associés.

La estación de Metro abandonada, Arsenal, de París convertida en una pisicina. Manal Rachdi, OXO architectes & Nicolas Laisné Associés.

Paris has 16 disused Metro stations, most of which closed between 1930-1970. A small number were also built but never opened. Previously the stations have been used as temporary sets for advertising campaigns and films. Porte-des-Lilas, a disused station closed in 1935, was used as a backdrop in 2001 film Amélie.

Project description by architects

Swimming in the metro

The parisian métropolitain is closely related to the life of the City of Light. Its stations are nearly as famous as its bouleverds, its churches, its museums.

From Champs-Elysées to Bastille, from Arts et Métiers to Châtelet, each one is unique, each one has its own story to tell. Every Parisian has their favorite metro station!

Some emblematic places in Paris, such as l'Arsenal, Porte des Lilas, Porte Molitor or Champs de Mars, used to have namesake metro stations. But after closure, they slowly fell into oblivion.

This project aims to bring back to life these ghost stations by giving them a new purpose.

At a time when New-York is talking about the 'Lowline', why couldn't Paris profit from its underground potential and invent new functions for these abandoned places?

This is about a slow transformation, to find, as opportunities arise, a new and thrilling way to take possession of these places.

To swim in the metro seems like a crazy dream, but it could soon come true! Turning a former metro station into a swimming-pool or a gymnasium could be a way to compensate for the lack of sports and leisure facilities in some areas.

A theatre on a disused platform could be an amazing venue for artists, choregraphers or dancers to perform, in an outstanding yet familiar setting.

Why not open a night club in the Arsenal station? Close to La Bastille, a vibrant neighboorhod, it is the perfect location to party in the heart of Paris without the risk of disturbing the neighbors.

An underground garden could be a place to enjoy calm and quietness on a rainy day, in a completely new environment.

And why not also imagine an art gallery, a space for artists to work and perform, or even a restaurant!

Far from their original purpose, more than a century after the opening of Paris' underground network, these places could show they're still able to offer new urban experiments.