The Centquatre-Paris

The Centquatre-Paris is a sprawling structure defined by its industrial, nineteenth-century skeleton of glass, brick, and cast iron. It stretches over two hundred seventy meters, featuring vast, high-ceilinged halls that once served a vastly different purpose. When it was inaugurated in eighteen seventy-four, the complex acted as the municipal funeral home for Paris. For over a century, the building processed roughly one hundred fifty funeral processions every day, with thousands of employees managing stables for hundreds of horses and storage for thousands of coffins.