Feature: Building on a Legacy: France's Villeurbanne redefines its Art Deco heart

Lyon [Paris], January 4: A hundred years after its birth in Paris, Art Deco is no longer just a chapter in architecture books. Villeurbanne, a city bordering Lyon, is reshaping its historic Art Deco district.
On a construction site across from the city's twin towers, cranes rise above closed-off sidewalks, marking the Gratte-Ciel Downtown Project, which will double Villeurbanne's downtown area without expanding the city limits. About 900 homes, new public services and green space will be added across roughly eight hectares.
The redevelopment comes as France marks the centenary of Art Deco, an architectural style that continues to shape urban landscapes across the country.
Art Deco emerged in the 1920s and gained international prominence after the 1925 Paris exposition. The movement favored straight lines, geometric patterns and monumental forms, made possible by materials such as reinforced concrete, metal and glass, which were increasingly used in construction at the time.
The style soon spread beyond France. In the United States, it helped define New York's skyline through buildings such as the Empire State Building.
"Art Deco provides a shared geometrical vocabulary," said Emmanuel Breon, an art historian who has curated several major Art Deco exhibitions in France. "Squares, circles, octagons, porthole windows, ocean-liner curves - architects around the world could work with the same forms while adapting them to local contexts."
In Paris, the exhibition 1925-2025: One Hundred Years of Art Deco, held at the Museum of Decorative Arts through April 2026, traces the origins, influence and lasting presence of the style, renewing public attention to this architectural heritage.
Beyond museums and landmark buildings, Art Deco also shaped everyday housing. One of the most complete examples can be found in Villeurbanne.
The Gratte-Ciel district was built in the early 1930s, where the apartments were equipped with then-modern amenities, and living conditions improved gradually between the 1950s and 1970s as buildings were upgraded.
For brasserie owner Jean-Pierre Siola, Art Deco isn't a subject for art exhibitions. It's something he lives in. By the time Siola moved into the apartment above his brasserie in 1990, everything had been renovated. "I didn't have to do anything," he said.
Although the Gratte-Ciel Downtown Project won't be completed until 2030, change is already visible. The new T6 tram line, running north-south, connecting the historic and future downtown areas, is scheduled to start service in February.
"The new buildings will be in harmony with the historic ones," said Ouachani Dorsaf, who assists residents at the project information center. According to project documents, the redevelopment will mix social housing, private apartments and student residences, with shops planned on ground floors.
Siola passes the construction site from time to time to see his niece. "The project will bring many people to the neighborhood. We'll see," he said.
For Perrine Soncini, a physiotherapist who works in the neighborhood, the changes are tangible. Cycling daily along the new tram route, she said improved lighting, fewer cars and more green space could make daily life easier, especially for the area's aging population.
A century after Art Deco first reshaped cities, Villeurbanne offers a clear example of how this modern heritage remains part of everyday urban life in France.
Source: Xinhua News Agency