The Galeries Lafayette department store building in

is one of those unexpected, almost insolent pieces of architectural heritage within an otherwise relatively homogenous town, notable for its unique history. Designed in the 1970s, the building was erected on the site with no awareness of its surroundings, heedless to context, form, alignment, or density.

And this is perhaps its force: it boldly made its mark on the site, as it has also made its mark on collective memory, so much so that it now features in the list of remarkable buildings of the 20th century.

The project was ambitious for its time. Around the Galeries Lafayette building wound a perfectly circular double ring of car parking, precisely tangential with the four corners of the department store’s square volume at its center. These two levels of parking were raised up, sitting on regularly spaced piles and providing pedestrian access to the recessed shopfront below. Pedestrians thereby came into the store beneath the car park, with no attempt at making the entrance inviting or user-friendly.

In fact, the original design catered for arrival by car; shoppers parked in one of the parking rings, which gave direct access to the shop floors.

The relationship with the surrounding urban space was also uncertain; the circular forms of the car parks, positioned at the center of the site, were set back from the streets and avoided any relationship with the buildings that faced them. This round, voluminous, multi-story car park was undoubtedly the first element one saw on approach, out of proportion and seeking no dialogue with the surrounding urban environment.

Despite the lack of ‘politesse’ with regard to the context, the result was surprising and even endearing: a sort of symbol of an era, with a certain beauty in spite of its assertive and radical isolation.

And indeed, over the years it has become part of the city’s heritage, to which the people of

have grown attached. It constitutes a powerful landmark in the city and is seen as a classic piece of 1970s and ‘80s heritage that, as such, must be preserved.