Centre Charras Explained

Stadium Name:	Centre Charras
Fullname:	Complexe Urbain Charras Zodiaque
Location:	Courbevoie, France
Opened:	1969 ^[1]
Yearsactive:	1969–present
Architect:	Henry Pottier
Builder:	Union des Assurances de Paris Office public de l'habitat de Courbevoie
Structural Engineer:	Patrick Le Lay
Main Contractors:	Entreprise Oger

Complexe Urbain Charras, promoted in real estate as Zodiaque and commonly called Centre Charras, is a former military garrison site and current residential and entertainment district in Courbevoie, Hauts-de-Seine, France.

Caserne Charras

Caserne Charras was one of three identical barracks built for the Swiss Guards in 1756, along with those in Saint-Denis and Rueil-Malmaison (the only one still standing).It later became home to a succession of French Army garrisons. In 1886, it was renamed in honor of former Minister of War Jean-Baptiste-Adolphe Charras, a Republican and exiled opponent of Napoleon III. It housed the École des officiers de la gendarmerie nationale for a short period between mid-1943 and late 1945.^[2] In 1961, the barracks was decommissioned and bought by the city of Courbevoie for demolition. Only its front wall has been preserved, and moved to Parc de Bécon, a public park on the banks of the river Seine.^[3]

Zodiaque

On the land formerly occupied by the barracks, architect Henry Pottier was commissioned to build a large ensemble consisting of several residential buildings arranged around an elevated square (Place Charles de Gaulle), under which are located a shopping center, a multistorey car park and public sports facilities.^{[4] [5]} As reflected by its name, the ensemble has an astrological theme, and the architecture of its main residential buildings is loosely inspired by signs of the zodiac.

Residential buildings

See main article: Tour Les Poissons.

• Poissons (English: Pisces), a skyscraper designed to look like two imbricated towers, one with 42 floors, the other with 35 floors. Upon completion, it comprised 299 housing units, a medical center and 8000 m² of office space. It briefly was France's tallest occupiable building before the opening of Tour Montparnasse in 1973.
• Gémeaux (English: Gemini), a 25-floor apartment block with 455 housing units.^[4]
• Verseaux (English: Aquarius), a 9-floor building featuring 149 housing units.^[6]
• Bélier (English: Taurus), an 18-floor tower with 125 apartments.^[7]
• Sagittaire (English: Sagittarius), a 9-floor apartment block with 88 housing units and retail space on the bottom floor.^[7]
• Capricorne (English: Capricorn), a 9-floor, 120-apartment building.^[8] Together with Bélier and Sagittaire, it is located on the north side of rue de l'Alma, while the rest of the complex is located to the south. Originally, Capricorne was going to extend above rue de l'Alma and bridge both sides, but the idea was abandoned and the building scaled back.^[4]

In 1977, the complex was extended with Balance (English: Libra), an 8 to 13 floor slanted roof building containing 126 units.^[9] It was built together with a series of towers that stretches to the east of rue de l'Alma. While they are all architecturally similar, only Balance is part of the Zodiaque ensemble. The other towers form a different complex called Les Mousquetaires (English: The Musketeers), which is divided into four residences, each consisting of one or two towers: Athos, Porthos, Aramis and d'Artagnan.^[10]

Stadium Name:	Thierry Monier Ice Rink
Native Name:	Patinoire Thierry-Monier
Former Names:	Patinoire municipale de Courbevoie
Opened:	1972
Tenants:	Coqs de Courbevoie (1972–present)
Dimensions:	56 × 26 metre
Seating Capacity:	1019 1557 ^[11]

Sports and leisure

Piscine olympique de Courbevoie
Native Name:	Swim
Opened:	1972^[12]
Type:	Indoor
Length:	50 metre 20 metre
Width:	25 metre 15,5 metre
Facilities:	Sauna

• An ice rink featuring a 56 × 26 metre track.^[13] It was renamed in honor of Thierry Monier, the longtime coach of local ice hockey team Coqs de Courbevoie, after his death in 2007.^[14] It has received poor reviews due to its obstructed views.^[15]
• A swimming pool featuring an 8-lane, 50-metre main pool and a 5-lane, 25-metre second pool.^[16] It is home to Stade Français Olympique Courbevoie, the swimming section of storied multisports club Stade français.^[14]
• A 12-lane bowling center.^[17] It is home to the Bowling club olympique de Courbevoie.^[14]

An athletics track was also considered for the southern end of the complex,^[4] but it was replaced by a terrace featuring a 200 m² paddling pool and two outdoor volleyball courts.^[18]

Shopping and hospitality

• Centre Commercial Charras, an indoor shopping center located below Place Charles de Gaulle, featuring a Carrefour supermarket^[10] and space for 80 shops.^[4] However, the building's age and outdated configuration have caused its occupancy rate to fall in the 2000s.^[10]
• Hôtel Mercure Paris La Défense, a 507-room hotel operated by Accor under its Mercure brand as of 2022.^{[10] [19]}
• 1800 parking spaces^[4]

In 2021, a 2400 m² indoor market called Marché Charras was built on the public square bordering Résidence Balance. Designed by the Croixmarie Bourdon agency, it adds another 600 parking spaces below the retail floor, while its slanted roof is intended to align with Balance's silhouette when looked at from certain angles.^[10]

Education and culture

• A day care center with room for 60 children^[20]
• A kindergarten, École maternelle Saint-Exupéry^[21]
• 14 artist workshops located on Place Charles de Gaulle^[4]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Municipales à Courbevoie : les candidats au chevet du centre Charras . Hubin . Florence . 17 February 2020 . leparisien.fr . 10 January 2022 . 16 March 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200316182903/http://www.leparisien.fr/hauts-de-seine-92/municipales-a-courbevoie-les-candidats-au-chevet-du-centre-charras-17-02-2020-8261397.php . live .
2. Web site: Il y a soixante ans, l’école des officiers de la gendarmerie s’installe à Melun . Haberbusch . Benoît . force-publique.net . Société nationale de l'histoire et du patrimoine de la Gendarmerie . 10 January 2022 . 16 June 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210616043147/https://www.force-publique.net/index.php?page=4&ch=2&idd=1529309575 . live .
3. Web site: Caserne Charras à Courbevoie . . 22 February 2017 . monumentum.fr . 6 February 2022 . 16 February 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220216123459/https://monumentum.fr/caserne-charras-pa00088101.html . live .
4. . December 1995 . Résidence Les Poissons – 25ème anniversaire . Syndicat des coopropriétaires de la résidence Les Poissons.
5. Web site: Le Zodiaque. . Emporis. 6 February 2022. 14 February 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220214223343/https://www.emporis.com/complex/150823/le-zodiaque-courbevoie-france. dead.
6. Web site: Résidences OPH : Le Verseau . . courbevoie-habitat.fr . Office public de l'habitat de Courbevoie . 15 February 2022 . 19 March 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210319195957/http://courbevoie-habitat.fr/residences_oph/le-verseau/ . live .
7. News: . 7 May 1975 . Résidence Alma Bezons à Courbevoie Charras . Le Monde . 32 . 9425 . 5.
8. Web site: Résidence le Capricorne. . Emporis. 6 February 2022. 15 February 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220215003249/https://www.emporis.fr/buildings/1591643/residence-le-capricorne-courbevoie-france. live.
9. Web site: Résidences OPH : La Balance . . courbevoie-habitat.fr . Office public de l'habitat de Courbevoie . 15 February 2022 . 19 March 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210319195954/http://courbevoie-habitat.fr/residences_oph/la-balance/ . live .
10. . 2 July 2021 . Halle de marché Charras . Archistorm . Paris . Bookstorming . 109 . 14–21 . 23 February 2022 . 15 February 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220215034437/https://fr.calameo.com/read/0067979844868a9554439 . live .
11. . 14 December 2012 . Bilan de l'activité des sous-commissions . Commission consultative départementale de sécurité des Hauts-de-Seine . 10 January 2021 . 11 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220111155146/https://www.hauts-de-seine.gouv.fr/content/download/3372/20526/file/CCDSA_2012.pdf . live .
12. Web site: Piscine Municipale de Courbevoie . . swimmy.fr . 6 February 2022 . 17 February 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220217010555/https://blog.swimmy.fr/annuaire-professionnel/16737/piscine-municipale-de-courbevoie/ . live .
13. Web site: Historique – Courbevoie . . 27 January 2015 . hockeyfrance.com . 15 February 2022 . 14 February 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220214235347/https://www.hockeyfrance.com/competitions/2015/01/27/historique-courbevoie-4/ . live .
14. Book: . Guide des sports édition 2020/2021 . City of Courbevoie . 2022-02-23 . 2022-02-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220214234445/https://fr.readkong.com/page/guide-des-sports-dition-2020-2021-ville-de-courbevoie-4395761 . live .
15. Web site: Patinoire Thierry-Monier . . ostadium.com . 16 February 2022 . 16 February 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220216045003/https://www.ostadium.com/stadium/2539/patinoire-thierry-monier . live .
16. Web site: Piscine de Courbevoie . . guide-piscine.fr . 14 February 2022 . 14 February 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220214223345/https://www.guide-piscine.fr/hauts-de-seine/piscine-de-courbevoie-1327_P . live .
17. Web site: Bowling de Courbevoie . . 1001salles.com . 14 February 2022 . 14 February 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220214223350/https://www.1001salles.com/seminaire/bowlings-ouest-paris.aspx . live .
18. Web site: Présentation de la piscine municipale . . ville-courbevoie.fr . 6 February 2022 . 16 February 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220216044049/https://www.ville-courbevoie.fr/1465/presentation-de-la-piscine-municipale.htm . live .
19. Web site: Hotel Mercure Paris La Défense à Courbevoie . . alfredmeeting.com . 15 February 2022 . 14 February 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220214235218/https://www.alfredmeeting.com/location-lieu/hotel-mercure-paris-la-defense-courbevoie . live .
20. Web site: Le Zodiaque à Courbevoie (92400) . . 14 September 2020 . journaldesfemmes.fr . 16 February 2022 . 16 February 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220216180301/https://www.journaldesfemmes.fr/maman/creches/le-zodiaque/creche-12498556 . live .
21. Web site: École maternelle publique Saint-Exupéry de Courbevoie (92) . . 27 January 2019 . 123ecoles.com . 6 February 2022 . Date d'ouverture : 12-10-1971 . 16 February 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220216125002/https://www.123ecoles.com/ecole-maternelle-publique-saint-exupery-de-courbevoie-92 . live .