Snøhetta at Festival du Monde 2025

On 21 September, Snøhetta will participate in the Festival du Monde with a program that includes an exhibition, a new book, a public conference, and guided tours of the Le Monde Group and Le Nouvel Obs headquarters in Paris.

The Le Monde headquarters was Snøhetta’s first completed project in Paris, developed in collaboration with SRA Architectes. Located in the 13th arrondissement, the headquarters accommodates 1,600 employees in a bold, arching structure that is suspended above he trailway tracks of Gare d’Austerlitz and supported by a complex steel framework.

The project was conceived in the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo attacks, prompting profound reflections on the roles of media and architecture in a world marked by uncertainty and change. Five years after its inauguration, the building still plays a pivotal role in defining the stories of the Le Monde Group and Le Nouvel Obs, as well as Snøhetta’s growing presence in France.

Join Kjetil Trædal Thorsen, co-founder of Snøhetta, and Oliver Page, Managing Director of Snøhetta Studio Paris, in conversation with Gilles Van Kote, Deputy Director of Le Monde. Together, they will revisit the origins of the building and discuss its impact.

This project marked the beginning of Snøhetta’s journey in France and has paved the way for numerous projects now handled by a Paris-based team of over thirty architects, landscape architects, and designers.

Location: Forecourt of Le Monde Headquarters

Between 2017 and 2020, artist Frédéric Chaume documented the construction process through over 250 sketches and engravings. His work offers a unique artistic perspective on the construction journey, highlighting moments rich in human activity and urban transformation.

232 of Chaume’s drawings have now been compiled in Le Monde HQ Sketchbooks, a commemorative volume released by Snøhetta to mark the building's fifth anniversary. His drawings emphasize the power of illustration as a medium for conveying architectural heritage and create a poetic dialogue between space, time, and human effort.

The book is enriched by original poems from Lamiya Shirvanzada, adding an intimate dimension to this artistic perspective. It also features an introduction by Snøhetta's co-founder, Kjetil Trædal Thorsen, as well as essays by architect and historian Jean-Louis Cohen and Aedes Architecture Forum director Kristin Feireiss, offering deeper insights into Chaume's work, situating it within broader architectural and cultural discourses.

A book signing with Frédéric Chaume and Kjetil Trædal Thorsen will take place in the temporary Boutique du Monde outside on the forecourt. The book will be on sale at the Boutique du Monde and online.

In the North Hall, an exhibition explores the design and construction of the headquarters. 

It highlights the technical feats that made the daring, bridge-like structure possible. Designed to unite all the editorial offices of the Le Monde Group and Le Nouvel Obs under one roof, the building represents both a technical achievement and a symbolic response to contemporary challenges in journalism. 

It is enveloped in a semi-transparent façade, symbolizing openness and connection to both the public and the city. The building embodies Le Monde’s commitment to press freedom and its dedication to democratic access to information and space, contrasting the downsizing often seen in other media institutions.

The exhibition also highlights the book, featuring some of Frédéric Chaume's drawings with accompanying texts. 

Two guided tours of the building, led by Kjetil Trædal Thorsen and Oliver Page, will be offered during the Festival (currently fully booked).