Parc de la Villette

Paris, France

Contributed by Project for Public Spaces

One of Paris's modern parks, built in 1987 on the site of a disused industrial site -- at 86 acres this is the largest green space in Paris.

Click on any image for slide show

For more images of Parc de la Villette or other places, try searching our Image Collection

Why It Doesn't Work

Famous for its grid of red "follies," Parc de la Villette is a case study in how not to design a park. Human use seems to have been a very low priority for architect Bernard Tschumi, who envisioned this park as an exercise in deconstructionist technique. The result is a dull landscape that substitutes absurd sculpture and disproportionately scaled structures for playfulness and variety. Once the novelty of the structures wears off, there is little to sustain one's interest or imagination, although the dense programming offsets the inhumanity of the surroundings to a certain extent.

History & Background

Designed by Bernard Tschumi as a "21st century garden" the garden links the Cite des Sciences to the north and the Cite de la Musique and the Parisian National Conservatory of Music and Dance to the south. The park holds a number of cultural events, including cinema, theater, dance, music, puppetry, circus, cabaret and street theater. The garden consist of a series of theme gardens: mirrors, dunes, play, shadows, bamboo, mists, trellised vines, movements, balance, islands, childrens fears and dragons.

User Comments:

> Add your own comment about Parc de la Villette

08/28/02 Jeremy Fretts said:: "Once the novelty of the structures wears off, there is little to sustain one's interest or imagination" I suppose this is an apt description, but having been there only once, the novelty has not yet worn off... :) As a public space--for the daily use of its neighbors--I can see that it would be lacking...it doesn't feel very connected to the neighborhood around it. It is, however, an intriguing demonstration that modernist design can be used playfully and delightfully. The various follies, individually, are considerably more delightful than many hands-off modern scultures. If I recall, some are even snack bars and restrooms...considerably more interesting than the state of such buildings in U.S. parks. In a more heavily trafficked (pedestrian traffic, that is) location, with a different site plan, I think these follies & sculptures could have been much more successful.
09/04/02 Andrea Weber said:: I visited the park on a beautiful sunny Sunday in late February, and it was teeming with activity. While I agree that the park is a bit boring in it's generally flat topography, I found that some of the larger expanses of turf were heavily used for pick-up soccer games. I imagine there are not many other places in the city in which that is possible. I also saw a drum performance, and people strolling everywhere. The park was used by a very diverse mix of people and users tended to be on the younger side of 40, in contrast to the more traditional parks, which had more older patrons and tourists. The most unfortunate issues I noticed were a lack of maintenance of the follies-which had missing and broken pavers, and the fairly weak attempt at bringing 'nature' into the park. How does a bamboo garden add to the 'natural' environment of Paris? Signage there (which was illegible) seemed to indicate a connection which I couldn't make. In general, I thought the park was very active and well used. It seemed to fill a niche for younger park users, which is a good thing in a city like Paris, which is so rife with history.
03/20/03 Anthony Miller said:: I have visited this park four times over the past ten years, and each time that I have visited, it has been full of people engaged in any number of positive activities. The amount of soccer games it supports is incredible, while at the same time it is filled with children playing on various pieces of park furniture, as well as walking along the dragon's back and then sliding out his mouth (see image six). As for the rather unusual Bamboo garden in the park's center - how typically French! Just look at how plants are dealt with at Parc Bercy (one of the nominated spaces on this site) as well as how they are treated at Parc Citroen in the 15th Arrondissement. The follies are indeed in need of better maintenance, but as another reviewer has already said they still seem to work better than any number of hands-off sculptures.
What hasn't been spoken of here is the fact that this park spans the old Villette canal in a fashion that brings people to the water's edge at many levels and in many ways. The flat topography not withstanding, the park has a number of levels from which it may be viewed and engaged. The Park is a space for young and old alike and if you were to speak to Parisians that go there they would probably give this park an overwhelming thumbs up.
It is interesting that this comment will be third on this park, all of them reasonablly positive. It might be that Parc de la Villette might also reside on the register of great parks as well as your hall of shame. What really interests and excites me is the fact that this web site provides an excellent forum for debate on what constitutes a great place/space - thank you.
11/24/03 Michael Westley said:: Reviewing the PPS website with a view to enrolling as a member, I was struck by the discrepancy between the largely positive comments of members regarding the Parc de la Villette and its position in the Hall of Shame on the web page. I do not know the process by which such parks and open spaces are judged by PPS for either plaudits or criticism. Whatever the answer, I feel that your contributor’s views should play a large part in such decisions, and that resurrection from the Hall of Shame should be possible for such a space where, as is the case here, it would appear to have been judged unfairly by your own reviewer.

Generally it has occurred to me that there might be a slight bias in your reviews against more modern spaces. I would only remark that many of the reviewers of Villette pointed out the varied activity and predominance of young people using the park. This has been my experience of Villette during a number of visits at different times of year. Surely designers which take on new social ad societal agendas and attempt to provide for them in the form of public open spaces should be given more encouragement than the PPS reviewer does in their piece. When one considers the multitude of tired old 19th and early 20th century parks still failing to realize that they might need to explore recasting themselves to suit the 21st century; it seems harsh to criticize those examples which are perhaps pushing the envelope by proposing spaces which may provide the context for contemporary societal modes, rather than sticking resolutely to old outdated formulae. One might recall with some relevance the painting by Manet, "le dejuner sur le herb". What is now recognized as a masterpiece and a critical step in the development of modern painting was struck with a riding crop by an outraged (and reactionary) viewer upon its first exhibition...in Paris. Perhaps we should be more circumspect in our assessment of contemporary essays into the potential of the future park
12/02/03 richard marshall said:: I too was struck by the positive responses and the negative evaluation. But I think it raises a fundamental issue for all of us engaged in contemporary public realm making - a disconnect between the way we should be making cities today and our conceptions of what makes "the good city." This is a major challenge for all of us and one that requires serious debate! I would hope that PPS would lead the charge in facilitating what I think is THE fundamental issue facing the design professions today.
05/07/04 Two Hands Clapping said:: I think that this park needs more low-gravity areas - to improve the soccer games - and overhanging statues of giants, pointing at the people and laughing.
08/03/04 william cone said:: The comments about Parc de la Villette demonstrate that people will figure out how to use public space provided if they can... good or bad. Therefore, just because people filled the park on a given day does not make it successful; it could still be awkward and confusing. Parc de la Villette, to me, is a confusing assemblage of objects that does not offer users the ability to immediately understand it spatially. Experiments such as this (and what landscape is not an experiment?) are required. The lesson to be learned here is objects in space do not necessarily create good space.
09/22/04 whookiat heng said:: Having lived in Paris for 5 years, I was certainly surprised at the negative reviews. Parc AndrÃ© CitroÃ«n is admittedly not very great a park, no shade, just plain open field. However, Parc de la Villette is constantly brimming with life. I always feel that good design is judged with time, and if the crowds there are any indicators of quality, Parc de la Villette is really one of the greatest contemporary parks in the world.
04/06/05 Alexandra Fallows said:: I lived in Paris for 4 years growing up, between the ages of 7 and 11, and loved the Parc de la Villette-- in fact would insist on going there on weekends. It was perfect for people-watching, and the statues were wonderful for exploration and day dreaming. I was always sure to run across some of my school friends there, and then start up a soccer game. It saddens me that the Parc has gotten such a bad review.
04/18/06 Ilko Petkov said:: I can’t believe this … One of the best parks being built ever to be criticized and classified as the third worst in the world. Asking myself the question if La Villette is one of the worst, which are the best, I have browsed through the winners list, published on this site only to find out that it features a full variety of boring parks. I felt a bit relieved that this classification is in fact self-assertive, fabricated by someone unable to create masterpieces, but follow the tradition and strict rules of ‘how to design’ textbooks ... The whole concept behind the “why it does and does not work” theory again is childish and follows narrow textbook principles. However the truth is simple -why it doesn’t work – because in a million years I wouldn’t be able to create even a slight resemblance of La Villette, and am only good enough for the well known copy that works of something already existing in thousands of variations here, there and everywhere. No disrespect, but that is how I really felt about you guys (CLASIFFIERS) when browsing through your web site. It is easy to classify, it is difficult to create, and if someone creates something that is beyond our comprehension, it hurts, but even so we should be able to respect that what we cannot achieve … and grade it honestly. The stringent principles of “how to” guides have blurred your vision and left you blindly believe that La Villette is just another one of those modern parks that “do not work”. Here you are wrong again, La Villette is not simply a park, it is a perfect symbiosis of architecture, landscape and motion. I believe that every one of us tries to implement the 4th dimension in his designs, but unfortunately just a few succeed … I have visited many places around the world, have not once satisfied my architectural senses to full extend, but ought to admit that I can count on the fingers of my hand the times, when I have lost track of everything around – time, existence, you name it. – My journey starting from Cite de la music, Conservatoire de Musique, through La Villette finishing with the “Cite des Sciences et de l’Industrie” was one of them. And finally, do not be fooled by this undeserved classification, just go out and see for yourself what real architecture is all about and enjoy your time as much as you can! You will not regret any second of it!
08/26/06 Laurie Tanenbaum said:: I was actually shocked to find this park on the "worst" list. I can't believe it! I live in Chicago, Illinois, USA, and just came back from France. I found this park to be one of the most innovative parks I've ever been in - and I didn't make it thru all of its acres. I was stunned with the very different kinds of spaces; children's play areas, open areas where people played frisbee and others picniced on the lawn, the blow-up movie screen for evening films, the loong walking bridge along the canal, and the oddity of some of the sculptures. Sometimes you were in big, open space, but around a corner was the oddest layers of garden. There was that magnificent dragon slide that continued a full one story down and the children's trampoline park. Hiding over there was a community vegetable garden with raised beds. Hardscape materials for walkways and walls differed in textures and colors in different parts and I found it exciting, creative, and exhilerating. I found this to be a park extraordinaire, with so may different kinds of spaces that it was difficult to stop exploring.
11/08/06 Damien Pericles said:: PPS - try and rench your heads out of the picturesque....please! And if you are going to trick us into debate with ludicrous polarising commentry then back it up or shut up.
07/16/07 rachael harris said:: I am currently planning a trip to Paris and would like to know if Parc Le villette should be on on my list of places to go.. I have read about the theory behind the park and find that very interesting and would like to know if the philosophy behind the design is actually translated in what the you see and experience? Is it really as dull and ill designed in real life?
08/30/07 Jeffrey Lucas said:: For this park to be on the "worlds worst" list is a ridiculous travesty that brings PPS into disrepute. It has most of the characteristics that PPS say makes a great public space viz access/activities/comfort/image/sociability etc. as we can deduce from the comments above from people who have lived with it. I visited on a couple of days in early March this year - plenty of people enjoying a multitude of activities, and this is not to mention the museums, exhibitions and performances that happen in the diverse buildings in and around the site : the monthly programme is packed with cultural activities. For PPS to dismiss the park as "inhuman" in one paragraph beggars belief. Yes, there are some large flat open surfaces but the brief required football fields (all in use when I was there)and spaces for markets etc. There are plenty of small fascinating themed gardens in which one can find meditative seclusion. The red follies are intriguing , rather mysterious and give a strong sense of the territory they mark out. No, it's not a "conventional" (ie nineteenth century) park constructed according to classical principals of purity, unity, and clarity. - it's an urban park for our messy mixed-up ambiguous 21st century life as we live it. In other words it's a great day out. Go there! (PS I am not related to Bernard Tschumi)
03/07/08 Michael Loftus said:: Yes I agree on this one too - I was already shocked that Parc de andre citroen is in the hall of shame. So I had a look through and see if any of my other favourites such as this one were in the 'hall' too and low and behold it is. Obviously I have a liking for bad parks like the many users that use the two parks. As I said in my comment for andre citroen parc a good open space is subjective, but I would be surprised if the majority of visitors to these parks would share the same view as the authors of PPS.
07/11/08 John Moser said:: Well, I had a good time there.
01/12/09 Joshua Anderson said:: PPS has a profound lack of respect for the human need for captivation and the power of space. Witness the ridiculous statement that your Campus Martius is one of the world's great places. A very high honor to award yourself indeed. But is it true? I've spent a good deal of time in that space as a former resident of Detroit. And while the benefit of having something - anything to sit in is appreciated, it is also an exercise in the typical and expected. It will not inspire, no matter how many scheduled events fill the calendar. God forbid a place in this world might be able to offer a quiet or austere moment to appreciate the power of art. Not every chunk of ground in the world can be filled with movie screens, coffee and news stands, and ice skating rinks.
05/01/09 Yves Gosselin said:: I, like many of the previous commentators, am surprised at the rather cavalier way La Villette is listed in the Hall of Shame. I have been going back regularly since 1989, to see the evolution of the use of this park. In what is a particularly "tough part of town", by French standards, I see a park used by a wide range of people, probably from various parts of Paris given the convenience of the Metro. One must not forget that the competition brief for this international competition, that received over 700 submissions had as its theme "A Park for the 21st Century", and specifically challenged the design teams to break away from the 19th Century romantic picturesque that has dominated park design, especially in the US, with the dominance of Frederick Law Olmsted. Both La Villette and Citroen attempt to propose another form of urban park. If PPS is serious about evaluating what is the "best" - let us base it on a set of criteria that we collectively share and value.