Star architecture and the boundaries of tourism: The case of Paris

Abstract

In recent years, contemporary spectacular architecture has been identified by tourism and urban stakeholders as a means to diversify the Parisian tourism offer. New star architectural projects are developed at the outskirts of Paris where constraints are less important than in more central historical areas. This chapter discusses to what extent emblematic architecture can be considered a "spatial event", able to modify tourism patterns in Paris. Can contemporary architecture and, a fortiori, star architecture encourage visitors to go beyond the usual central tourist boundaries? Can it encourage tourists to head "off-the-beaten paths"? The cases of the Fondation Louis Vuitton designed by Frank Gehry (2014), the Philharmonic designed by Jean Nouvel (2015) and Seine Aval designed by Shigeru Ban and Jean de Gastines may illustrate an important turn in the development of the planning and transformation of tourism via star architecture.