Grand Paris Express — An immersive audio-visual exhibition at Expo’s France Pavilion

DUBAI: The Grand Paris Express, the 200-kilometre future metro of Greater Paris billed as the largest infrastructure and development project in Europe, has been brought to life in an immersive exhibition that runs at the France Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai from January 20 to February 21.

Improving links between three Parisian airports and major railway stations, the Grand Paris Express will circle the French capital like a ring road, serving 3 million daily users with 68 new stations, each acting as a nucleus of integrated development, thus reducing urban sprawl.

With 75 per cent of the stations underground, the project is an example of development based on sustainable mobility by significantly reducing vehicular traffic, and contributes to the goals of the European Green Pact. The first station of the Grand Paris Express will open in 2024, and the project is due to be completed by 2030.

The exhibition was inaugurated on January 19 by Emmanuelle Wargon, French Minister Delegate for Housing, attached to the Minister for the Ecological Transition, in the presence of Erik Linquier, Commissioner General for France at Expo 2020 Dubai; Rémi Babinet, Chairman of the Grand Paris Express Fund; and Pierre-Emmanuel Becherand, Head of Architecture, Culture, Design and Creation at the Société du Grand Paris.

Designed by the architect Dominique Perrault, appointed General Commissioner by the Société du Grand Paris, the exhibition takes the form of an immersive experience inside which a 360-degree film is shown, retracing the story of the project. French artist JR has enriched the exhibition with images of commuters and future users of the new metro.           

Jean-Dominique Secondi, Head of Culture and Creation, Société du Grand Paris, and a leading name behind designing large underground urban transport projects across France, said: “The Grand Paris Express will mark a break with the way the Paris transport network operates, creating new patterns of mobility by facilitating travel between the suburbs. In enabling regional areas to engage in dialogue, with each other and with Paris, the Grand Paris Express will provide businesses with a wealth of opportunities, fostering economic development.”

The immersive exhibition gives visitors a novel introduction to the project in progress, from the construction of complex infrastructure to its influence on the diversity of regions it crosses.

The exhibition is a showcase of French savoir-faire in architecture, mobility, urban planning, engineering and culture. Launched at Expo 2020 Dubai, the exhibition is slated to travel to the world’s major capitals for national and international events, and is intended to be a place for debate on large-scale urban transformations in the world’s metropolises.

Source: Expo 2020 Website