The Logical Basis

A few levels under the iconic TGV, Eurostar and Thalys-loaded Gare du Nord departure hall, lies the platform of the RER B line. The regional rapid transit line is well-known for connecting Europe’s busiest railway station with France’s largest international airport. In the context of the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, the COP21, the line became of even further importance, leading the conference’s participants to the summit’s venue in Le Bourget.

On this occasion the scruffy platforms of RER B and D got a fast makeover, including an installation by the British, New York based, artist Liam Gillick. His creation pays tribute to the researches of the Japanese meteorologist and climatologist Syukuro Manabe, co-author in 1967 of the first global climate simulation. Gillick transcribes Manabe’s complex formulas on 42 panels, making nearly exclusive use of Helvetica, laid out on what are probably Pantone-coloured backgrounds.