Intervening in the Parc Sud sector requires revisiting its history. From its conception in the 1970s, the notion of a playful city was integral to the construction of the Parc Sud. The public space of the Nuages towers, built in the 1970s by Emile Aillaud, his daughter Laurence Aillaud, and the artist Fabio Rieti, defines the most visible part of this area. The presence of André Malraux Parc and the large, varied, and generously vegetated public spaces, characteristic of 1970s urban planning, are another major strength. However, despite significant potential in terms of public space quality, vegetation, and enhancement of its built heritage, the neighborhood suffers from many dysfunctions that deteriorate the quality of life for its residents.

The Parc Sud development operation is an urban renewal project covering 32 hectares at the gates of Paris. It entered the Urban and Social Renewal Program process in 2006 and is expected to continue until 2026, or possibly beyond. The project has undergone numerous studies and reflections since 2007, which have helped define the challenges and objectives of the area renewal, establish the program, and identify the operational implementation methods.

The project is now entering the « operational master plan and urban project management » phase. Despite a good geographical location and significant landscape qualities, many public spaces are poorly functioning, degraded, repurposed, or cluttered with cars and thus require a redefinition of their uses. While continuing the comprehensive studies and reflections conducted so far, the Operational Master Plan mission must allow for a reassessment of the development project, integrating all the issues at the heart of urban design based on the site’s specificities and constraints, establishing an urban approach, and creating a unique grammar for the territory.

Our project, continuing the transformations already underway, particularly through the plan established by the Castro Denissof studio for the various project areas, values and reexamines them in light of contemporary challenges.