“I work for the pedestrian, not the aviator. I think of the one who looks out from the window of their bedroom or living room,” wrote Fernand Pouillon. That is precisely the point of view we have chosen — that of the passerby who looks and listens. It guided our exploration of 25 neighborhoods across France, from Grande-Synthe to Perpignan — large housing estates and new towns — all transformed over the past decade through the National Urban Renewal Program. Our aim is to expand the field of perception, offering a tracking shot of this “new France”, shifting between wide views of the landscape and close-ups of details, gestures, and signs of care. None of these images, on their own, claim symbolic value — reality is too complex for that. It is through their superimposition that the true character of each neighborhood emerges. The soundscape accompanying this photographic journey was recorded during the shoots. The texts can be read separately as captions for individual images or continuously, like a form of live subtitling. Renewal is not a new idea: it inspired the very construction of many of these neighborhoods — later criticized, sometimes demolished. But today, the renewal that seems most urgent is that of our mindset and our viewpoint towards these places that remain “new” and that continue to challenge Europe’s ingrained affection for the “historic city.” Let us hope this book contributes to that renewal, as it did to a truly human adventure for its authors, carried out with the rigorous trust of the 3F Group.
Editorial Direction: AHA
Graphic Design: WA75
Photography: Julien Lanoo
Video: Corentin Perrichot
Sound: Yves Bagot
Publication: September 2015
Editions AHA — ISBN: 979-10-95126-00-3
Available in bookstores and on request at info@aha-paris.com
