Recognized in Europe as an avant-garde architect in the 1970s, the Catalan architect Ricardo Bofill was brought onto the French stage following the destruction of the Baltard Halls in 1971. Invited to compete in 1974, the architect attempted to reconnect with the historical forms of Parisian architecture and urbanism. However, he was excluded in April 1978 after over three years of projects and models by Jacques Chirac, the first mayor of the City of Paris, who preferred a more neutral and less monumental architecture. Nevertheless, Bofill played a prominent role in the development of new cities in France from 1972 to 1985, with projects that were both significant and controversial, such as Abraxas in Marne-la-Vallée, Le Lac in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Place Majeure in Cergy-le-Haut, and the Antigone neighborhood in Montpellier.
Designed as a highly illustrated logbook, describing the close relationship between architecture and politics under Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and François Mitterand, this work revisits, for the first time, the iconic construction site of Les Halles, covered by a confidentiality clause until the architect's death in 2021. Through the accounts of witnesses from that era, including Jack Lang, Jean-Jacques Aillagon, Paul Chemetov, Roland Catro, as well as the archives of the Taller, the author describes Bofill's remarkable rise to superstar status and the significance of architecture, which was at the center of all conversations.
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