We put forward five possible scenarios, ranging in terms of their impact, and the contracting authority opted for the most discreet - and paradoxically, the most audacious design - for the future station. Indeed, while the scope statement called for a dedicated location for a new structure to be built ex nihilo, our station will be built into an existing building - a former Decathlon store. Of the five stations that will become the stops along the line 15, this is the only one to be designed using this solution, which offers the additional benefit breathing new life into a building dating from the 1960s, while also generating new foot traffic that will help animate the huge, impersonal housing blocks nearby.

In architectural terms, the challenge with this station resides in its interwoven limitations: how could we pour light into the underground spaces? How would we create a complex, mobile subterranean space? How would we manage the various technical and safety requirements? How could we incorporate this building into the surrounding urban fabric and create a visual milestone, without imposing our design over the existing edifice? Our process centred mainly on the passengers’ “journey to the centre of the earth”, with particular care being taken to bring natural light indoors, and to lean into the ambient minerality.