The project was launched by the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, with the launch in 2015 of the Reimagine Our Squares program, which covered seven spaces in the city center. Its goal is to give up the Place de la Madeleine, the Pantheon, the Bastille, etc. pedestrians, cyclists, public transport, and reduce the number of cars there: this will improve the environmental situation and reduce the stress level of citizens.
The Les MonumentalEs team, led by landscape architects Emma Blanc Paysage, also includes architects and builders Collectif Etc, graphic designer Emmanuelle Guyard, gender specialists Genre et Ville, social inclusion and sustainability bureau Albert & Co. This team was entrusted with the Pantheon and Madeleine squares.
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zooming 1/4 Pantheon Square before reconstruction Photo © Les MonumentalEs
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zooming 2/4 Pantheon Square before reconstruction Photo © Les MonumentalEs
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zooming 3/4 Pantheon Square before reconstruction Photo © Collectif Etc - Lucas Bonnel
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zooming 4/4 Pantheon Square before reconstruction Photo © Les MonumentalEs
The huge Pantheon serves as the burial vault of prominent people in France; the area around it was perceived as created on a leftover principle. They moved along it either along the perimeter, or bypassed outside the Pantheon fence. The architects began to monitor the situation and found that students from nearby universities and colleges, as well as tourists visiting the Pantheon, spend their time on the square. Residents of the surrounding neighborhoods and townspeople of other age and social groups did not appear there. It was also noticed that women, unlike men, hardly spend time alone there, that is, it was necessary to figure out how to make the space comfortable and attractive for them.
The goals of the project were to restore connections between the Pantheon and the square's perimeter, make it more lively and enjoyable, give more space to pedestrians, create a new program for public space, otherwise organize parking, introduce landscaping.
The analysis in the spring of 2017 was the first stage in the work of the architects who settled on the square in a container-kiosk (such were allocated by the mayor's office for all seven objects of the Hidalgo program). Then, in the summer, a pilot project was implemented to test the ideas of the architects and collect feedback from the townspeople. The important principle was maximum use cases with a minimum of funds. "Recyclable materials" for him were found in the warehouses of the capital's administration: a granite side stone was used in the form of benches on wooden supports or as supports for wooden platforms. Another form of urban furniture is a long table with benches. Another find in the warehouse was used as the backs on the platforms - the Renaissance
mascarons from the New Bridge (Pont-Neuf), which were replaced by new ones during its reconstruction in the 19th century.
The materials are quite consistent with the surroundings (there is granite paving on the square, the buildings around are faced with sandstone). The pieces of furniture were arranged on a rectangular grid - quite in the spirit of the classicist Pantheon. The implementation was carried out by the company Albert & Co, which trains and employs people in need of social integration.
Restricting the movement of cars immediately reduced the noise level (and at the same time the feeling of insecurity), which is important for a quality public space. Variants of routes through the square were thought out - at the choice of pedestrians, and also separate zones were created according to the type of "furnishings". The blocks-benches were liked by couples or singles, groups or couples were located on the platforms. But the long table attracted all users at once, including "independent" women, which made it a place for communication between strangers.
The area began to be used for relaxation, reading, doing homework or work, as well as for lunch in the fresh air. Students and tourists were joined by "ordinary" Parisians. The architects organized a series of round tables on new uses of space and tactical urbanism, with ballet dancers, artists, DJs, orchestras, etc. performing on the square. Workshops and consultations with citizens were held, and the authors of the project also worked with primary school students. A special place was taken by the feminist agenda: so far only five women have been buried in the Pantheon, so at one of the workshops on the stones of the square, participants wrote the names of prominent women, reproduced
Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party. This summer, the names of 200 women of all social groups, cultures and eras, selected by a special scientific committee, were permanently applied to the wooden parts of Les MonumentalEs furniture as part of an art project by Claire Courdavault.
The final version of the project was completed by July 2018. In contrast to the trial version, the platform boards became narrower, backs and metal frames appeared there. Craftsmen from the city administration were asked to adjust the fasteners for a more convenient repair, which was done. All surveyed townspeople wanted to plant greenery on the square, but the protection of the monuments did not allow planting plants there, so for now they had to limit themselves to 40 trees in "flowerpots".
