2014

Passengers of the Grand Paris Express — Exhibition on the future metro and its surrounding areas, Vitry-sur-Seine

The exhibition “Les Passagers du Grand Paris Express” immerses visitors in an informational space and a visual world reminiscent of a future station on the network. Starting from the plaza, the “Gare MAC VAL” sign welcomes visitors before plunging them into the history of cartographic representations of the “Grand Paris” region, from its center out to the suburbs. A large animated table explores the transformation of the topography while creating a new mental map that metro lines 15, 16, 17, and 18 will form. Alongside this, an interactive wall allows visitors to simulate and understand how to navigate the public transit network in 2020 and then in 2030. The exhibition unfolds in several sequences, whose content conveys the challenges of the Grand Paris Express in a concrete, tangible, yet subjective way. The themes range from the large books suspended above the display of 18 models of future stations and industrial sites along the southern section, through project sketches, illustrated portraits of the neighborhoods where the future stations will be located, Françoise Huguier’s photographic portraits of travelers, Pierre Olivier Deschamps’ landscape portraits, and the immersive soundscape of the journey imagined by Ange Leccia, the future Line 15 takes shape through a rich and sensitive imagination. A discussion forum and a library accompany this simple and cohesive collection to facilitate debate and exchange on future uses. A new typeface designed as part of the public information system is being tested here, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in the graphic atmosphere of the future stations.

Design Team — Ruedi Baur and Nelson Steinmetz Digital
Design — Figs Olivier Cornet
Typography — Peter Bil'ak