Hôtel de préfecture et du département de Seine-Saint-Denis, Administrative building in Bobigny, France
The Hôtel de Préfecture et du Département de Seine-Saint-Denis is an administrative building with a distinctive asymmetrical pyramid shape clad in dark concrete panels and featuring continuous horizontal window bands. The structure houses public reception areas on lower levels alongside administrative offices and private residential spaces in the upper floors.
The building was designed and constructed following the creation of Seine-Saint-Denis department in the late 1960s, with architects Michel Folliasson and Jacques Binoux overseeing the project from 1968 to 1971. Its completion marked the establishment of a new administrative center for the northern Paris region.
The building reflects a clear separation between public service spaces and private official residence, a design choice that shaped how people experience the administrative center. Visitors notice immediately how the layout keeps visitor zones distinct from the prefect's quarters.
The main entrance opens into a spacious reception hall where staff direct visitors to the appropriate administrative offices, though the layout can feel maze-like at first glance. It helps to arrive early enough to navigate the building without feeling rushed through the various corridors.
The structure exemplifies a rare instance of early 1970s French administrative architecture that reflected confidence in modernist forms and industrial materials as symbols of progress. The asymmetrical pyramid shape was an unconventional choice for a government building during that era.
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