Collection by Tiffany Chu

The Design of the Paris Metro

The Paris metro was born with the same furor as the Eiffel Tower, right on time for the World Expo at the turn of the 20th century. Over the past few months, I've spent nearly an hour everyday intimately getting to know the system that gave the world the word 'Métro'—and after a bit of design history digging, I found that there was so much more, as always, beneath the surface.

Three stations today still boast Guimard's fan-shaped glass awnings, called édicules, as shown here at the Abbesses station in Montmartre. Photo courtesy of
Three stations today still boast Guimard's fan-shaped glass awnings, called édicules, as shown here at the Abbesses station in Montmartre. Photo courtesy of
Metro Station Saint-Sulpice, Paris
Metro Station Saint-Sulpice, Paris
SONY DSC
SONY DSC
The 

Arts and Metiers station is definitely one to be gilded into memory. The steampunk copper construction was designed in 1994, to celebrate the bicentennial of the nearby National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts, in the science-fiction spirit of Belgian artist and scenographer Francois Schuiten. One can imagine descending into some subterranean Nautilus. Photo courtesy of Tiffany Chu
The Arts and Metiers station is definitely one to be gilded into memory. The steampunk copper construction was designed in 1994, to celebrate the bicentennial of the nearby National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts, in the science-fiction spirit of Belgian artist and scenographer Francois Schuiten. One can imagine descending into some subterranean Nautilus. Photo courtesy of Tiffany Chu
With green lighting and red staircases, the Cite metro (which serves Île de la Cité, the island on the Seine where Notre Dame sits) is one of the deepest and most awe-inspiring stations, designed with the concept of a giant riveted tank.

Photo courtesy of Tiffany Chu
With green lighting and red staircases, the Cite metro (which serves Île de la Cité, the island on the Seine where Notre Dame sits) is one of the deepest and most awe-inspiring stations, designed with the concept of a giant riveted tank. Photo courtesy of Tiffany Chu
The Père-Lachaise metro is right outside the famous cemetery outside bearing the same name, and it was the first station to be equipped with an escalator in 1909. Although over 200 stations today have some form of escalator, the Paris metro system is far from handicapped accessible, with most of them only ascending. Photo courtesy of Tiffany Chu
The Père-Lachaise metro is right outside the famous cemetery outside bearing the same name, and it was the first station to be equipped with an escalator in 1909. Although over 200 stations today have some form of escalator, the Paris metro system is far from handicapped accessible, with most of them only ascending. Photo courtesy of Tiffany Chu
Paris, métro aérien et pont sur la seine
Paris, métro aérien et pont sur la seine
Now, the newer lines are fully automated and have sliding glass doors that separate the platform from the tracks, a la Copenhagen, Singapore, and other leading metropolitan systems. This is line 14, at Chatelet.  Chatelet-Les Halles is an incredible morass to navigate (and one that I try to avoid at all costs, as it may very well take ten minutes to make one transfer), with five metro lines and three RER commuter rail lines intersecting at the world's largest underground station.

Photo courtesy of harry_nl
Now, the newer lines are fully automated and have sliding glass doors that separate the platform from the tracks, a la Copenhagen, Singapore, and other leading metropolitan systems. This is line 14, at Chatelet. Chatelet-Les Halles is an incredible morass to navigate (and one that I try to avoid at all costs, as it may very well take ten minutes to make one transfer), with five metro lines and three RER commuter rail lines intersecting at the world's largest underground station. Photo courtesy of harry_nl
Metro Paris
Metro Paris