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Death of Roland Castro

By 20 March 2023June 12th, 2023No Comments

Roland Castro, a humanist architect committed to opening up the suburbs and a pioneer in the transformation of large-scale housing estates, passed away on March 9, 2023.

© Atelier d’Urbanité

A true urban thinker and committed citizen, through his architecture he demands the right to urbanity, the opening up of large housing estates and the desire to seek out light and charm by opening up perspectives, all motivated by his commitment against the phenomenon of ghettoization of the suburbs.

In 2018, he was commissioned by President Emmanuel Macron to write a report on Le Grand Paris, a book version of which he published in 2019, Du Grand Paris à Paris en grand . Le Grand Paris, which he sees as “a way of putting an end to the suburbs”, remains the last civic commitment of this militant architect, dedicated to the betterment of the suburbs.

At the same time, he and his architectural firm produced a number of innovative and remarkable projects, such as the Cité Internationale de la Bande Dessinée in Angoulême (1989). Most of his projects, however, focus on the “urban remodeling” that is so dear to his heart, such as the rehabilitation of the République bar in the Quai de Rohan district of Lorient (1996), or the renovation of La Caravelle (2009), a large housing complex designed by Jean Dubuisson in Villeneuve-la-Garenne, which he transformed without demolition.

Rehabilitation and remodeling of the République district, Lorient, 2003 © Atelier d’Urbanité

During construction work in the République district, Lorient, 2003 © Atelier d’Urbanité

A communist activist during his studies at the Beaux-Arts, he was fully involved in the events of May 68. After running the Maoist newspaper “Tout!”, he returned to architecture in the mid-1970s and began the “urban remodeling” projects that would spearhead his entire career.

Although he had already attracted attention for his work on the former Petite Roquette prison in Paris, his first major project was the Bourse du Travail in Saint-Denis (1980).

In 1981, he created the “Banlieues 89” association with his colleague Michel Cantal-Dupart, and succeeded in getting French President François Mitterrand to take part in a media tour of several suburbs, alerting him to the urban planning challenges facing the authorities. His audacity reintroduced urban planning issues to the heart of the political debate, and an interministerial mission he headed was created to improve the quality of urban planning in the suburbs and to reflect on a project for Greater Paris.

Christine Leconte, President of the Conseil national de l’Ordre, pays tribute to the memory of “an architect and urban planner whose commitment to urban and suburban policies was always as strong in his actions as in his speeches”.

Roland Castro with François Mitterand © Atelier d’Urbanité

Remodelling and development of La Caravelle, project completed, Villeneuve-la-Garenne, 2009 © Atelier d’Urbanité

Sources : Atelier d’Urbanité; Ordre des architectes; Elysée; France Inter

Camille Buzon