The site next to the Seine on its left bank, in the reconstruction zone around the Austerlitz train station, was acquired by the Le Monde group in order to bring together all its publications under one roof, led by the newspaper of the same name. The existing building of Christian Portzamparc could not accommodate all the staff, and the editorial offices were scattered throughout Paris.
However, the site, despite its convenient location almost close to the train station with the metro station, had a significant disadvantage: its center was occupied by underground railway platforms, so it was impossible not only to arrange a basement technical floor, but even to strengthen the supporting structure here. For this reason, the initial task of the architectural competition organized by Le Monde did not even involve the construction of a single building, but only two buildings on the sides of the site. Nevertheless, almost all participants proposed to build one structure such as a bridge (their projects
can be viewed in our material here).
According to the jury, the most successful option was offered by Snøhetta: this is a streamlined elongated volume (80 m in length, weighing more than the Eiffel Tower, area - 23 thousand m2), rather than a bridge, but a bridge - a gymnastic exercise. A spacious square is arranged under the central "cutout", shops and cafes are open at one of the footholds, and a double-height auditorium is also available to the public. This is one of two important features of the project: when most institutions are primarily concerned about safety, here the architect and the customer were not afraid to blur the line between private and public, giving the city and its residents a surprising amount, especially given the usual bustle and disorganization of railway station areas.
The second solution, also seemingly going against the spirit of the times, is a full-fledged workspace for 1,600 employees of the Le Monde group, with an almost traditional news department, where all the publications based in the headquarters coexist while maintaining autonomy. Other media concerns are reducing space, using non-fixed workplaces, experimenting - and here, on the contrary, the emphasis is on a comfortable, light, calm office of a free plan (another "unfashionable" move).
Grandstand stairs and spiral staircase, "analog" archive, cafe and dining room for employees, roof terrace with views of the Seine and Paris (the panorama is not much worse from the windows), parking for 300 bicycles, bridge opening across the railway tracks in 2021, convenient linking the building to the city - all of this seems almost redundant in the era of digitalization and universal work from home. However, the belief in the value of social life in any format, which traditionally distinguishes Snøhetta projects, may well pay off as an investment in the basic human need for personal communication with their own kind.
This approach is analogous to the solution of the facade, which with the help of 20,000 "pixel" panels of glass of different degrees of transparency should resemble typographic text, slightly fuzzy, best recognizable from a distance. This allusion to the persisting paper print seems like an anachronism - but also an important sign of the familiar in a changing world.
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Image 
zooming 1/7 The new headquarters of the Le Monde Group Photo © Jared Chulski
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zooming 2/7 The new headquarters of the Le Monde Group Photo © Jared Chulski
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zooming 3/7 The new headquarters of the Le Monde Group Photo © Jared Chulski
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zooming 4/7 The new headquarters of the Le Monde Group Photo © Jared Chulski
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zooming 5/7 The new headquarters of the Le Monde Group Photo © Ludwig Favre
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zooming 6/7 The new headquarters of the Le Monde Group Photo © Ludwig Favre
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zooming 7/7 The new headquarters of the Le Monde Group Photo © Jared Chulski
