During a presentation to the press held at Paris City Hall on January 7, 2026, architect and Pritzker Prize laureate Renzo Piano released the first images of the transformation of Montparnasse’s emblematic shopping center and CIT Tower into a pedestrian-focused district in Paris, France. The project, commissioned to Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW) in 2022 by the co-owners of the commercial complex, proposes both a visual and functional transformation of the 1970s low-rise retail development into a more traversable space characterized by transparency and openness. The design was developed in parallel with the redevelopment of the Montparnasse Tower, led by Nouvelle AOM, to reshape the broader tertiary complex into a contemporary Parisian block oriented toward public life, environmental performance, and everyday use. The project reopens the site to the city, reconnecting streets and restoring continuity between Montparnasse and its surrounding neighborhoods through new public spaces.
The commercial complex, known in French as the Ensemble Immobilier Tour Maine-Montparnasse (EITMM), dates from Paris’s 1970s “slab urbanism,” characterized by inward-facing retail and the separation of pedestrian and vehicular circulation through raised concrete platforms. Built between 1969 and 1973 by AOM on the former Montparnasse train station site, the ensemble is composed of three distinct elements: the Montparnasse Tower, the commercial center, and the CIT Tower, which sits above the retail slab. The proposed intervention builds on these existing structures, seeking to reconcile the site’s emblematic architecture with contemporary urban renewal by opening the block and reconnecting it to the surrounding city.
A new vision for the commercial center, reflecting shifts in retail models and evolving urban needs, was commissioned to RPBW in 2022. The project was paused in 2023 and resumed with renewed design work in 2025. In late 2025, the Paris City Council voted in favor of the proposal. During the January 2026 presentation, the City of Paris and the EITMM co-owners signed a protocol agreement confirming their joint commitment to revitalizing the site. The redesign establishes a unified approach for both the commercial center and the CIT Tower, involving coordination between clients, planning authorities, and environmental stakeholders.
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The renovation strategy emphasizes conservation and limited demolition, retaining the existing structural grid as the backbone of the project to reduce embodied carbon. New volumes are introduced using lightweight timber structures, allowing additional programs to be integrated while minimizing structural intervention. Excluding the Montparnasse Tower, the ensemble currently totals 53,500 square meters of offices and retail space and will see its surface area increase by approximately one third. More than 10,000 square meters will be allocated to sports, cultural, and residential uses, including 5,600 square meters of student housing, 30 percent of which will be designated as social housing. Retail space will be reduced by 28 percent compared to the existing configuration, enabling a more selective commercial program oriented around pedestrian flows and destination-based uses.
The urban approach is based on principles of openness and permeability, introducing new pedestrian routes that cut through the site and reconnect Rue de Rennes, Montparnasse station, and surrounding streets, while linking three Parisian arrondissements. Ground floors are reconfigured to be transparent and accessible, establishing visual and physical continuity between public spaces and the interior of the block. At the center of the project, a new piazza, comparable in size to Place du Marché Sainte-Catherine in the Marais, acts as a connector between surrounding streets and major public spaces at a metropolitan scale. Shaded by a dense tree canopy, the piazza is framed by cafés, restaurants, and terraces, supporting everyday uses and social activity.
Opening onto the piazza, a cultural facility of nearly 1,500 square meters is planned to play a defining role within the new district. Conceived as both a gathering space and an architectural landmark, it will host a program dedicated to contemporary arts and music. Panoramic elevators and a sequence of belvederes connect the venue to the central square, extending public circulation vertically through the site. The uppermost belvedere provides access to rooftop sports facilities, including six outdoor, accessible multi-sport courts with views over Paris. These facilities complement the existing Armand Massard sports center, which includes swimming pools and fencing halls, with redesigned access points intended to improve visibility and accessibility from the surrounding public realm.
Other recent urban regeneration projects worldwide include the Ellinikon Master Plan in Athens, which is transforming a former airport site into a new coastal district comprising residential neighborhoods, commercial areas, and extensive public landscapes. The initiative accompanies related developments in Thessaloniki, Piraeus, and other Greek regions, including new academic buildings, cultural institutions, sports facilities, and workplace environments. In October 2025, OUALALOU+CHOI won the international competition to design the new Casa Sud Train Station in Casablanca, Morocco, envisioning the station as both an infrastructure hub and a civic landmark for a rapidly expanding metropolis. In September, UNESCO concluded its restoration rrogram for the City of Mosul, Iraq, addressing areas partially destroyed during the occupation between 2014 and 2019.