Paris Expo Hall 4 Hall 5

Abstract

Valode & Pistre first became involved with the large convention center and exhibition site at the Porte de Versailles in the west of Paris in 1991 when they participated in a competition organized by the city to renovate the façade of the facility that faces the city. They responded that it was useless to engage in a cosmetic action, but that the entire park should be rebuilt over a ten-year period. Naturally, they lost the 1991 competition whose goal was more modest, but their ideas were to serve a purpose several years later. Created in 1925, the park included nine exhibition pavilions, the last of which had been built in the 1970’s. Crossed by the ring road of Paris, the site was ill adapted to modern exhibitions, with difficult truck access. In 1996, the president of the facilities consulted several architects, including Norman Foster before choosing Valode & Pistre to engage in precisely the kind of major renovation they had proposed five years earlier. With a total built area of about 200,000 m², the park already exceeded the allowable quota, but city officials agreed to the renovation on the condition that the final floor area remain unchanged. The first structure to be completed was Hall 4, a multi-purpose facility 250 meters long, by 84 meters wide with a clear interior height of 10.5 meters. With beams spanning the full 84-meter width, technical ducts in the ceilings and further technical spaces below grade, Hall 4 offers an exceptional size and flexibility.