The Hidden Brutalist Architecture around Paris

Exploring some lesser-known sites in the Paris region

William Sidnam
11 min readJan 11, 2023
"The People's Versailles" (Photo by William Sidnam)

Last year, I worked on an ad campaign that introduced me to the world of Brutalist architecture.

Back in March 2022, I was helping to concept an online film for Salomon's new running shoe, the Glide Max. At the time, our planner on the project suggested playing with Brutalism in our campaign, as it wasn't a style that had been used before in running shoe commercials.

In case you were wondering, as I sure was, Brutalism is a style of architecture characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the raw materials used to make them. (The term 'Brutalism' comes from the French word 'brut', which means 'raw'.)

When we got in touch with a filmmaker, he had a few shooting locations in mind. So the day before the shoot, we went to scout out Les Olympiades in Paris' 13th arrondissement and Montigny-le-Bretonneux to the south of Versailles.

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William Sidnam
William Sidnam

Written by William Sidnam

New Zealand creative based in Paris. Advertising copywriter & photographer with 3 Medium Staff Picks. Documenting metro posters at www.instagram.com/metrotears/

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