Congrexpo

       The master plan for Euralille, France is the largest realized urban planning project by Rem Koolhaas. The one-million-square-meter business, entertainment and residential complex is grafted onto the small medieval town of Lille, north of Paris. Scheduled for completion in 2004, the complex will include a train station, hotel office buildings, shopping mall and restaurants.


     The Grand Palais, or Congrexpo, is the centerpiece for the plan. The building flows with the subtle curves which are a Koolhaas hallmark. The main entry hall has a sharply sloped concrete ceiling. On the exhibition hall ceiling, slim wood slats bows at the center. A staircase to the second floor zigzags upward, while the polished steel side wall slopes inwards, creating a wobbly mirror image of the stairs.