Pos Malaysia Goes Parisian: The Louvre Post Office Reimagined!
My 13th post is all about the "Paris Louvre Central Post Office"! Imagine, a 19th-century post office given a dazzling makeover, reborn in 2021 as a mixed-use commercial building featuring a swanky hotel.
Being a huge fan of Paris, I regularly visit to soak in the architecture and design, both old and new. It's like architectural study vacation! So, every weekend, I'm sharing these "modern Parisian architecture tidbits" with you.
Dominique Perrault: The Mastermind
The architect behind this transformation is none other than Dominique Perrault. He's world-renowned for designing the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Fun fact: He also worked on the revamp of the Fukoku Life Insurance building in Osaka (2010).
More Than Just Mail: A Mixed-Culture Haven
While retaining its postal functions, this building has blossomed into a mixed-culture space, incorporating offices, shops, and a luxury hotel (Hôtel Madame Rêve), and restaurants. It's a complete lifestyle experience!
From the street, you'll still see the historical facade, but step inside, and the public atrium unveils a London-esque design with steel columns and trusses – partly for enhancing the building's earthquake resistance. Quite a rare sight in Paris, betul tak?
The hotel entrance is tucked into a corner. And for a five-star hotel with 82 rooms, the entrance was surprisingly small! The lobby was also rather compact.
I dream of staying there one day, but with room rates upwards of 200,000 yen a night… wallet cries! (ketawa)
Getting There: Easy Peasy!
The nearest station is Les Halles on Metro line 4, or Châtelet les Halles via the RER. It's also within walking distance of the Louvre Museum and right beside the Bourse de Commerce - Pinault Collection (designed by Tadao Ando!). So convenient!
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