Maison de la Radio et de la Musique

[1] After World War II, the French government had organised the state-owned radio and television channels into a single body, Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (RTF).

Previously the site of a gasworks which had been decommissioned in 1928, and then a stadium, the location was considered ideal because of its proximity to the Eiffel Tower and its radio transmitters.

The winner from the 26 entrants was Henry Bernard who had won the Prix de Rome in architecture in 1938 and had participated in the post-war reconstruction of Caen.

[4] In March 2003 the Paris Prefect of Police ordered the evacuation of the central tower because it no longer met fire-safety regulations.

In the end it was decided to renovate the existing building with most of its personnel and broadcasting stations operating there during the project despite the extra costs this would entail.

[10] Jean-Luc Godard's 1965 dystopian science fiction film Alphaville was partially shot at Maison de la Radio.

Instead, the film used recently built modernist glass and concrete buildings such as the Maison and the CNIT that in 1965 were still considered new and strange architectural designs.