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Origin and history

The headquarters of the French Communist Party (PCF), located 2 places by Colonel Fabien in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, was designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer in 1965. The building, completed in 1971, embodies a modern and militant architecture, with its fluid curves and its curtain wall signed Jean Prouvé. Niemeyer saw it as a "brand of socialist society", mixing functionality and revolutionary aesthetics. The white dome, added in 1980, houses the National Council Chamber, while the underground hall, called the "working class foyer", symbolizes the party's popular anchor.

The project was carried out in collaboration with Jean Prouvé, Jean Deroche and Paul Chemetov, combining raw concrete and organic lines. The building, classified as a historical monument in 2007, is based on five pillars, creating an illusion of lightness. His parvis and dome, inspired by Niemeyer's "breast of a pregnant woman", interact with Parisian urbanism. The place of Colonel Fabien, a tribute to a communist resistance, reinforces the symbolic dimension of the place, where the Joint Programme was signed in 1972.

As early as the 2000s, the seat opened to cultural and commercial uses to finance the party. Fashion shows (Prada, Thom Browne) and filming (films, clips like those of Angèle or Alain Souchon) succeed them. "Espace Niemeyer", a large 1,000 m2 hall, hosts exhibitions (Jacques Tardi, Jacques Benoit) and events. Despite these adaptations, the building remains a major testimony of 20th century militant architecture, between socialist utopia and modernity.

The raw materials – apparent concrete, green carpet, acoustic metal blades – highlight a "educated architecture", according to Jean Deroche. Niemeyer expresses his humanist vision: "Life is more important than architecture", while creating a place that is both functional and poetic. The three underground levels, the archive rooms and the white dome, covered with resin, illustrate this duality. Served by the metro (line 2, Colonel Fabien station), the site remains an urban and political landmark, between worker memory and contemporary reinvention.

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