The City of Europa project, commissioned by the Auchan group, has attracted public attention thanks to Nicolas Sarkozy. At a conference sponsored by L'Architecture d'aujourd'hui, the French president was asked to list key projects that lay the foundation for the capital's Greater Paris redevelopment program. In response, he named Jean Nouvel's new Paris Philharmonic, buildings within the strip connecting Paris and Le Havre into a single metropolitan area, Frank Gehry's proposal to turn the Montparnasse skyscraper, unloved by the townspeople, into “a symbol of the turbulent creative energy of the new Paris”, and the new Auchan complex.
Sarkozy noted that until now, commercial and industrial development has only disfigured natural landscapes and entrances to the city, but now the time has come for "a new commercial urbanism with a human face."
This is a complex with a total area of 450,000 m2, combining commercial, cultural, sports and entertainment functions. Each of the components of the program will be located in its own "universe", which should reflect the diversity of Europe and its culture.
