C42 - Espace Citroën
1 Comments Published by Cedric Benetti on Thursday, November 29, 2007 at 11/29/2007 10:10:00 PM.
The new Citroën showroom in Paris, known simply as C42, named for its location at number 42 on the Champs-Élysées.When it was built in 1927, the original Citroën dealership at this location was a marvel of style and elegance, with a large glass entrance perfectly framing the cars inside. But by the 1980s the original showroom was gone, replaced by a chain restaurant with a half-hearted section devoted to Citroën. It was shorter than the surrounding buildings, and was overshadowed by Citroën’s long history of innovative marketing.
“It was a very long experience,” said architect Gautrand, referring to the construction project. City regulations meant that the Metro station directly in front of C42 could not be closed, and the sidewalk had to remain accessible to pedestrians at all times.
The glass latticework — each section weighing four to six tons — had to be trucked in at 1:00 a.m. Since heavy equipment and trucks had to be cleared from the busy street in time for the morning rush hour, that left only five hours to unload the glass each day.
A full-size model of a DS sedan transforms into what Citroën calls its Totem Mobile, which was introduced at the Paris Motor Show last year. Designed by the American artist Chico MacMurtrie, the Totem Mobile splits open and expands skyward, stretching 60 feet at full height.
Labels: Architecture shot, design
how do they get the cars up there!