and the way people lived in them. I became literally absorbed by the atmosphere of the city, by the astounding mix of futurism and tradition.

Two areas next to my home have been essential in my approach – Les Damiers at Courbevoie and Les Tours Aillaud at Nanterre. Then, in 2011, I discovered other examples of monumental and spectacular architecture in and around Paris such as the Espaces d’Abraxas or the district of Pavé Neuf in Noisy-le-Grand, the housing in Ivry-sur-Seine, the Orgues de Flandre in the 19th district of Paris or the Arcades du Lac in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. I became interested in the history of these estates, the origins of their construction and the role they played in society. I am fascinated by their oversized urbanism, both rough andpoetic, often ridiculed and always a point of contention.

Can you explain some of the history of the projects?

For the most part built between the 1950s and the 1980s to address the housing crisis, urban migration and the inflow of foreign migrants, these large estates are often stigmatised and marginalised today. They are the symbol of a dream of a triumphant modernisation, where the population reaches a generalised and standardised comfort, and where the human being can blossom away from the agitation of the metropolis.

From the 60s, these districts begin to be criticised for the problems they raised and large-scale housing environments were increasingly rejected. The inhabitants felt pushed out of the city, the transport network being insufficient to reliably reach Paris. In the 1970s, these places had become