BNP Banque Paribas

The Place du Marché Saint-Honoré has played an important role in the history of Parisian squares. For many years this iconic square was occupied by a multistorey carpark. The decision to revitalise the area resulted in the demolition of the carpark structure and the construction of a transparent five-storey building accommodating offices, shops, basement parking, and a fire station. At the same time, the square was remodelled and repaved, and redesigned as a grand open-air living room.

The building consists of a classically designed structure wrapped in a double-glazed façade, which is duplicated by a second transparent outer façade, suspended from hidden anchor points. This juxtaposition of archetypes—the temple, the market, the street, and the plaza—find here a new integrated urban solution.

Like an autonomous body reigning at the centre of the Place du Marché Saint-Honoré, the building’s transparency and internal street mean that the visibility and freedom of movement of visitors never feel constrained. In fact, the Marché Saint-Honoré is as much home to the activities of the BNP Paribas bank as it is to a linear public space of passage and pause that develops across the whole length of the building. This internal street allows the existing urban axis to be preserved; it’s bordered by two symmetric, parallelepipedal volumes and is animated by commercial activity on the ground floor, becoming a real space for interaction. The glass roof shelters and brings together both the full and empty spaces, forming a unique, porous element that reflects the surrounding urban landscape.