Lens-shaped glass roof over Saint Lazare metro station
Paris
- France
Date
1997
-
2003
Client
RATP
Architect
ARTE Charpentier
RFR’s assignments
Design of the glass roof and the structure
Description
When line 14 of the Paris metro was extended, architects Arté-Charpentier proposed a station entrance in the shape of a glass bubble or 'lens' ('lentille' in French) for Place Saint Lazare, allowing travellers under ground to see the sky.
This structure uses the effects of transparency in a new way. The surrounding objects are reflected on the shiny spherical surface of the 'lens', making it gleam like a jewel and turning it into an urban feature of the square that avoids falling into the trap of the usual opaque, solid structure.
The structure of the 'bubble' or 'lens'-shaped roof had to be as light as possible. RFR opted for a simple structure consisting of interwoven perpendicular arches supporting a doubly-curved transparent surface. This structure is braced by a series of cross-shaped cables.
Since its opening in 2003, this station serves as a case study in the use of stainless steel, which is applied extensively throughout the structure in sheet and plate form with many different types of finishing.
This structure uses the effects of transparency in a new way. The surrounding objects are reflected on the shiny spherical surface of the 'lens', making it gleam like a jewel and turning it into an urban feature of the square that avoids falling into the trap of the usual opaque, solid structure.
The structure of the 'bubble' or 'lens'-shaped roof had to be as light as possible. RFR opted for a simple structure consisting of interwoven perpendicular arches supporting a doubly-curved transparent surface. This structure is braced by a series of cross-shaped cables.
Since its opening in 2003, this station serves as a case study in the use of stainless steel, which is applied extensively throughout the structure in sheet and plate form with many different types of finishing.
