Bofill: The French Years

The French Years refers to the period when the Taller de Arquitectura operated across the northern border, contributing to France’s historic villes nouvelles (new towns) initiative through a series of ambitious social housing projects. Architect Dominique Serrell, who directed the Paris office from 1975 to 1983 and was directly involved in projects such as Les Espaces d'Abraxas in Marne-la-Vallée, Le Lac in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, and the Antigone district in Montpellier, is ideally placed to guide readers through them in her new book.

Drawing on personal experience, archival material, and recent interviews with key figures (some of them openly critical of the outcomes), Serrell presents an in-depth account of the Taller’s methods and ambitions, while placing its work within the wider context of post-Franco Spain, the legacy of May ’68, and other epoch-defining shifts. The book also revisits the Les Halles project – the commission that first brought the Taller to France – tracing its development and eventual collapse, a story long obscured by confidentiality and revealed here in detail for the first time.