Market hall, public car park and promenade
The Charras Centre is an enormous urban complex built in 1969 in Courbevoie, near La Défense. Surrounded by high-rise apartment blocks, the space is home to a collection of public facilities (pool, skating rink and the current market), a shopping centre, a hotel and car parks. The project is part of an operational phasing plan that frees up different plots for the restructuring and extension of the outdated shopping centre.
The new market hall is the cornerstone of a highly technical operational programme. It involves extending the existing car parks, which have been brought up to standard, by building a 600-place underground car park over 3 floors, while the site is occupied. The design of the car park and new public space has to deal with significant limitations (co-owned properties, multiple poorly identified networks, working urban heating system), whilst ensuring significant functionality and clarity.
Beyond its commercial purpose, the new market is an appealing and lively place open to all. It is the unifying component of the new common-space promenade. Constructed perpendicular to the street for better visibility, it extends towards the centre of the site and enhances the connections to the shopping centre and town hall.
The project reconciles a dense programme and restricted site in a highly compact space. Its elliptical shape and pitched roof ensures the building blends in while avoiding a stark front-on design. The building slopes down to the closest buildings and rises up to stand out on the street and opposite the shopping centre.
The limited size of the building, the compact car park design and the creation of a north-south path make the Charras Market highly visible within open and free-flowing public spaces, linked to major urban routes.
The new market is home to traders 3 days per week, but also new uses during extended opening times. There is a brasserie at the front of the building on the street side over 2 floors, opening out onto the market. A concierge service on the south side edge, shared with the shopping centre, can be used to pick up parcels or prepared baskets.
Inside the market, traders enjoy a business-friendly layout. Each unit has versatile metal stalls, with an adaptable structure, that help shape the overall commercial identity.
The new Charras Hall takes its place within its urban and historic surroundings to offer a modern, environmental and elegant interpretation supported by high-quality materials: timber, varnished tiles, glass, steel. The detailed implementation considers the complex requirements, whilst giving the building a unique and long-lasting feel.
The same care has been taken with the external structures. They reconcile the needs of external traders, the definition of spaces adapted to the residential and commercial surroundings, the addition of greenery, rainwater management and neighbouring developments (urban boulevard being redesigned).
