Urban study for Saint-Denis
Little known to wider audiences, Saint-Denis is a dynamic, creative city that has continuously reinvented itself throughout its history. This preliminary study for obtaining Remarkable Heritage Site status for the city centre aimed to show how its heritage remains a foundation for creative, innovative, and emerging practices and uses.
Julie Charrier, Project manager
Jean-Pierre Serna, Project manager
Plaine Commune – the local public authority (EPT in French) – and the City of Saint-Denis are working on an ambitious programme for preserving and reclassifying the city centre of Saint-Denis. They have a vision for a living city facing many intersecting challenges, including how to improve quality of life issues and enhance heritage across all its historical layers and typologies.
The studio is working with the city and other local government authorities on preliminary study to obtain Remarkable Heritage Site (SPR in French) status for the city centre. The study shows how this status will contribute to Saint-Denis’ ongoing transformation by helping develop it as a hub for development without adding new constraints.
It uses a multidisciplinary approach to heritage preservation issues in the broadest sense: how can local people own and be involved in heritage, and how to support initiatives and projects that are already underway. It highlights various aspects of the city's history, the range of scales at which its local development issues play out, and the position it occupies within the Île-de-France conurbation.