Beneath the Trocadero Gardens in Paris, a tunnel that sat closed for years now serves as a public restroom, one of the newer additions to the city’s paris public toilets network. French studio Chartier-Corbasson Architectes renovated the passage using a palette of stainless steel and weathered Corten steel.
The new facilities are part of the OnE masterplan, a competition-winning scheme to redevelop the public spaces and gardens around the Eiffel Tower. Chartier-Corbasson Architectes won the commission in 2019 together with London studio Gustafson Porter + Bowman.
The tunnel dates to the 1937 Universal Exposition, when Roger Lardat designed it as part of the site. Its distinctive openings are finished in bush-hammered concrete, and its walls are lined with flint. At the end of the Second World War, US soldiers scratched graffiti into those flint walls.
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For a long time, the city’s cleaning services used the tunnel as a storage area, and the public had no access. The renovation, shortlisted in the Heritage project category of the Dezeen Awards 2026, aims to show off the original utilitarian design while giving the space a new purpose.
The studio describes the work as more than a functional fix. “Far from being a mere functional adaptation, the project, entirely off-site, transforms a closed, neglected, and invisible space into a high-value, integrated, and dignified public amenity situated in a busy urban environment,” the studio said.
Chartier-Corbasson Architectes argues the project shows how far a modest brief can reach. “By restoring meaning and form to a previously purely utilitarian space, this project demonstrates that architecture can elevate even the most ordinary uses, while having a significant impact on the city, its users, and its collective memory.”
Inside the new paris public toilets
The pink-toned bush-hammered entrances at each end of the tunnel have been restored. Inside them, new Corten steel gates frame the spaces, and each gate incorporates a sculptural seat.
Custom-made glass blocks now fill the domed skylights above the entrance spaces. Below them, circular stainless-steel sinks echo the curve of the dome, repeating its form at a human scale.
Most of the facilities sit in a row of stainless-steel cubicles set between the flint-lined walls of the central passage. The layout creates a two-way route, with doors that swing open on alternating sides.
The team kept changes to the existing structure of the tunnel to a minimum. At one entrance, cubicles fit into a series of curved niches and are fronted with stainless-steel doors, with no expansion of the underground space.
The studio calls this approach restrained. “The direct reuse of the underground space, without expansion or alteration, demonstrates a restrained and intelligent approach to urban transformation,” the studio said.
Material contrast drives the design. “The intervention focuses on a clear material contrast: the systematic use of stainless steel highlights the original flint walls and concrete, further enhanced by strategic artificial lighting,” the studio added.
The project also brings fresh air into the underground spaces through natural ventilation. New stainless-steel gutters manage water seeping in from the park above.
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The park sees heavy foot traffic, so the team built most of the new elements off-site. That choice limited disruption to visitors and cut the amount of waste produced on site.
Other recent projects have also aimed to lift public toilet architecture and public restroom design. In London, Studio Weave clad a toilet block in contrasting panels of stone salvaged from a demolished office building. These restrooms show that a neglected service space can become a civic amenity without losing its original character.
H/T dezeen.com
Frequently asked questions
Where is the new public toilet in Paris located?
The public restroom is beneath the Trocadero Gardens in Paris, in a tunnel that had sat closed for years. It is part of the OnE masterplan to redevelop public spaces and gardens around the Eiffel Tower.
Who designed the renovation of the Paris public toilet tunnel?
French studio Chartier-Corbasson Architectes renovated the tunnel, using stainless steel and weathered Corten steel. The studio won the commission in 2019 together with London studio Gustafson Porter + Bowman.
Why was the tunnel closed to the public before the renovation?
For a long time, the city’s cleaning services used the tunnel as a storage area, so the public had no access. The renovation turned this neglected space into a public amenity.
How did the renovation minimize changes to the original tunnel structure?
The team kept changes to the existing structure to a minimum and did not expand the underground space. At one entrance, cubicles fit into a series of curved niches, and most of the new elements were built off-site to limit disruption to park visitors.
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