A Communication Link

Launched by the City of Paris in 2014, the redevelopment of the Boulevards de la Chapelle and de la Villette aims to transform a former urban thoroughfare into a welcoming and generous promenade. Conceived as a shared public space, the project articulates two complementary lighting approaches: functional lighting to ensure safety and readability, and artistic lighting to reveal the site’s identity at night.

Following feedback from residents and local associations, the City of Paris commissioned Atelier dada in late 2017 to rethink the nighttime lighting of the North and South viaducts with a more harmonious, inspiring and meaningful vision for the neighborhood. The ambition was to go beyond utility and to offer a luminous narrative capable of reconnecting infrastructure, inhabitants and urban life.

This publication, dedicated to the original lighting concept, shares the content of the public meeting held on December 21, 2017, at the historic Théâtre de la Bouffe du Nord. It is complemented by a series of ambitious visuals that were initially considered too bold to be presented, yet fully express the depth and scope of the proposal.

The lighting masterplan, signed by Atelier dada, was unanimously approved by the City and adopted by the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, as part of her mandate. The project is extensive and structured to be implemented over three years, through successive phases: Lot 1 focuses on functional lighting for the central promenade and surrounding roadways; Lot 2 introduces artistic lighting beneath the viaduct deck; Lot 3 is dedicated to the artistic illumination of the supporting columns; and Lot 4 addresses the viaduct arches, including those spanning the SNCF North and East railway tracks.

Through this phased approach, light becomes a tool for transformation, gradually reshaping the perception of the boulevards and affirming their role as a continuous, vibrant and shared urban landscape.