Flea market stands, St Ouen
Expansion of the flea market with the construction of new flea market stands.
DESIGN TEAM
AXK (© Pierre Audat & Associés), Bet Verdi, Cofer and Socotec
The Serpette and Paul-Bert markets exhibit a significant heterogeneity in their built structures, resulting from various adaptations made over several generations of flea market traders. This has created a highly specific form of micro-urbanity at the heart of Saint-Ouen. The built environment, much like its contents, represents an accumulation of eras, forms, and styles — a true journey through time.
These new stands, located at the core of the Paul-Bert market, emerge from this interweaving of references to the history of both classical and industrial Audonian architecture. They are unified by the structural grid characteristic of the flea market stands and by a shared two-tone color scheme, inspired by the former Citroën and Biron factories, which once stood nearby but have since disappeared.
The project restores a cohesive built frontage that blends harmoniously with the existing structures along the even-numbered side of the alley, situated between the two main market entrances. This reconfiguration recreates a balanced perspective with the buildings on the odd-numbered side, thereby enhancing the flea market’s activity within this part of the Architectural, Urban, and Landscape Heritage Protection Zone.
The volumetrics and composition of the project offer a synthesis that unfolds from the lower to the upper end of the alley, featuring:
A “head” structure located at a street corner, which establishes the link between the alley’s built frontage and that of the neighboring market. This structure acts as a prominent visual landmark for the district’s activity, designed like a glass “prow” that showcases the objects displayed within the future stand.
A main façade punctuated by wide-open porticoes at ground level, facing Impasse Simon, with entrances topped by workshop-style windows. This façade also includes an attic level that conceals the single-pitched roof and aligns with the roofline of the “head” structure.
A “transition” structure whose verticality, design, and width create a seamless link to the Paul-Bert market stands located beyond the gate.
This thoughtful composition ensures architectural coherence while respecting the market’s eclectic spirit, reinforcing its historical and cultural significance within the Saint-Ouen flea market.
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