J’habite ici, à Saint-Ouen!

J’habite ici, à Saint-Ouen! is a project initiated by the designer Eddy Terki, in response to the call for projects “Partage ton Grand Paris 2020” (“Share your Greater Paris 2020”). Grand Paris is a governmental project aiming at changing the agglomeration of Paris into a global metropolis, in order to diminish territorial inequalities and to create a more sustainable city.

Situated in the north of Paris, Saint-Ouen is representative of the close suburban cities in which different type of populations cohabitate, due to the gentrification of those areas. J’habite ici à Saint Ouen is as much a questioning of what makes a city our own as a rediscovery of its spaces and architecture. This project was initiated with a workshop in a secondary school, and was thus directed towards teenagers, and their vision of what will be the future of their city; the second step was showing their actual perception of their city, through posters and collages, in the Marmottant square.

This also led to the design of custom deckchairs, where we can read different questions directly asked to anyone who comes across the square and wants to enjoy a relaxing time in the park. We can read questions such as “What places do you like most in the city of Saint-Ouen?” or “How many different languages can you hear in the streets of Saint-Ouen?”: these questions are already reflexions of the city and are incitations for people to share their experiences with each other.

The project identity designed by Eddy Terki is simple and highly recognizable: the text is set in Mars from Production Type, with an association of white and green. Mars calls for attention: its condensed capitals grab the attention of the passerby who can’t stay indifferent to what jumps to their eye. The green color, on the other hand, doesn’t disturb the harmony of the park and its vegetation: the posters as well as the deckchairs find their place in the city and become natural elements of the public space.