Les Olympiades

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The esplanade of Les Olympiades, in the heart of Paris's main Chinatown.

Les Olympiades is a residential towers district located in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, France. It has been built in the frame of the Italie 13 project.

Built from 1969 to 1974, the district consists of several towers built along a huge esplanade, elevated eight meters from the ground, which is dedicated to pedestrians. A shopping mall, known as the Pagode, stands at the center of the esplanade. Below it are streets dedicated to vehicular traffic. That way, shops and boutiques can easily receive deliveries on the lower level. The main entrance from the residential towers is also located on the esplanade. Though the proportions are more modest, les olympiades are designed similarly to the esplanade of La Défense.

The eight tallest towers are each 104 meters (341 feet) tall and are named after cities which have hosted the Olympic games: Anvers (Antwerp), Athènes (Athens), Cortina, Helsinki, Londres (London), Mexico, Sapporo, and Tokyo. Other residential buildings, which are wider than they are tall, complete the district.

Les Olympiades were built in order to attract a population of young white-collar workers; it was believed that they would be attracted to this very modern complex offering multiple services (education, sports, etc.). However, many find the nearly identical towers to be bland, and the complex did not live up to its expectations, finding problems attracting residents. However, the complex finally began to attract many residents with the arrival of Vietnamese refugees in 1975, who quickly populated the district. Very often, many families would share an apartment in order to pay the elevated rents. Since then other refugees from Southeast Asia, and recently China, have arrived and have progressively opened shops around the neighborhood, giving birth to what is today the main Chinatown in Paris.