By Li Wen my wife and I moved to the Medieval village Les Arcs I’m asking our neighbor where she bought her new refrigerator I tell her I need a store where I can examine appliances in person my initiation to French big-box retail begins Much of the Provençal life that people imagine and that I briefly experienced in my youth two architects looking to refresh after decades of living and working in Los Angeles I’ve discovered that much of the American lifestyle also exists here: expanding suburban housing developments Growing populations need to be housed and filled with competitively priced goods that seemingly only big-box retail There is perhaps a growth logic that escapes borders So we hop into our car and head to our nearest Boulanger The big-box shopping experience here starts on the road as there are few street grids in this part of Provence The rationale for the grid’s continued use in America—providing clean parcels for private development and efficiency for the automobile—did not exist in the days when many of these rustic settlements were built and travel was by horse or foot the American grid is replaced by the roundabout—the logical geometric means to redistribute cars on converging roads of varying angles It also means that one cannot stop at a traffic intersection to look for a store In my search for Boulanger along the feeder road in Puget-sur-Argens it also doesn’t help that the tall pylon signage found in America is noticeably absent Such markers are perhaps rendered useless here by the curved streets that eliminate the grid’s long view corridors are pushed up closer to the road for increased visibility where access to big box retail is provided by signaled traffic intersections for regimented flow access to French big box is a jostling affair of roundabouts Too late—we’ve missed the exit to Boulanger and need to circle around again we encounter secondary roundabouts where we can slow down and get our bearings But the general lack of “front yard” parking in French big boxes due to buildings encroaching upon the street for increased visibility relegates most parking to the “back.” Thus these secondary roundabouts are the “doors” to French big box centers I notice the less-efficient stall patterns the geometric result of planning off a circle do not easily accommodate the angles of stalls and drive aisles frustrating my search for available parking But there is an environmental advantage to the French approach While the grid enlarges one’s perception of a big-box complex’s overall size the more radial arrangement here allows buildings to better adapt their positioning to the varying terrain reducing grading and increasing optimization of land constraints It could almost be an exiled store from a high-end mall its polished image foretells the character of the electronics and appliances within Though the bog-box typology may be utilitarian I feel an attempt here to lend that DNA a contemporary guise Entering through frameless motion-sensored sliding glass doors that open with an almost inaudible hiss I am immediately struck by the seemingly high levels of ambient lighting as opposed to the find-and-exit expediency I feel in American big boxes I can also perceive the overall space; this is a big experience I have come to realize that not all French big boxes offer Boulanger’s experience one cannot help but notice how it is a warehouse for retail with products densely stacked on numerous rows of similar metal racks piled up seemingly to the ceiling dimming the light and requiring rolling stairs to reach the top shelves and that character is maintained throughout Though one can anticipate the scale of choices from the building’s size Variously scaled display systems mark different departments and the presentations are kept at a lower height Large products are often displayed where one can inspect them without having to exert much energy And there is also more space between products thereby avoiding the crammed density in its American peer This French big-box experience is more akin to a large department store than a warehouse In thinking about the differences between American and French big box my mind migrates to how this might reveal the differences between American and French modernity American Modernism initially adhered more to notions of function and honesty preferred to explore more human—and therefore more idiosyncratic—experiences This may explain why the work of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe gained a larger foothold in America than that of his Modernist counterpart Modernism was as much a social project as it was an aesthetic one Modernism became stripped of much of its social underpinnings and became codified and rationalized for ease and speed of dissemination This was perhaps due to the vast size of America’s land and market the latter half of Le Corbusier’s architecture portfolio (and Mies’ early European work) reflects a preoccupation with the qualities of scale and maybe even contradiction; more human and less machine And as these two modernist trajectories evolved within a more interconnected world they may have met at the place of spectacle But even here one senses a difference—the American architectural spectacle being more about entertainment One feels this when experiencing the novel forms of Frank Gehry set against the dramatic gestures of Jean Nouvel hinted at when I see all the sans-serif block letters and contemporary graphics that adorn big boxes here or walk into the 10-meter-high entry pavilion at my local Leroy Merlin would be brimming with products to further distract customers with more choices Differences may be as much about what one adds as what one leaves behind But French big-box commerce will remain as long as the search for lower prices continues They are necessary for the many who live here Their back-of-house function contributes to the continuation of the front-of-house Provençal lifestyle While this back-of-house is usually concentrated in areas adjacent to major auto routes for ease of product transport and cheaper land are removed from such spaces to maintain their character and integrity Natural landscape separates the two ecosystems both can continue to coexist here in a state of mutual dependance I’ve discovered that the difference between the “new world” and the “old world” is not that the latter lacks the former Thus I can walk down slate paved paths to my preindustrial village center for fresh daily fare and drive a short distance through a green belt to my nearby Hyper-U and domestic offerings —600 years of time travel in 10 minutes a quality in America provided by its cultural melting pot and laissez-faire economics is counterbalanced in France by aggregated influences over time a history that seems to serve as an additional buttress against the vagaries of the future I have gained an empirical appreciation for how the timeless needs time how that maturity can form a more stable foundation for the arrival of the “new.” Where America chases the “new,” its shorter history and larger land mass providing a tabula rasa for the future in France the “new” cannot help but be just another layer of time its much longer recorded history forming a baseline for merely what comes next Rising high over the vineyards next to the A8 artery are the beginnings of another “bigger box” distribution center There are already almost a dozen in the area—the retail typology of the 21st century Online shopping and deliveries have also become ubiquitous here as reflected in my neighbor’s initial reply And if you live in one of these old villages it’s easier to have your purchases delivered through these narrow winding village streets Convenience and low prices drive a consumer logic that knows no borders But with its buffers of green belts and history France may have enough to find an appropriate balance The numerous signs illustrating historic sites that dot the A-8 reflect France’s rabid protection of its legacy This is done to support national identity and the robust tourist economy these incentives may be enough to form effective safeguards Li Wen is a graduate of the Yale School of Architecture and a former Design Principal at Gensler He presently resides in France as a freelance writer while pursuing other creative endeavors Get smart and engaging news and commentary from architecture and design’s leading minds a Not-For-Profit website dedicated to reconnecting architecture and design to the public This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Groundation will be on tour in 2023 with a brand new show to celebrate the 20th anniversary on the release of the album HEBRON GATE They will play this reggae masterpiece in its entirety HEBRON GATE has marked an entire generation and propelled Groundation into new spheres France @ Le Boeuf sur le Toit   May 16 France @ Théâtre Lino Ventura   May 23 France @ Festival Les Petites Folies May 27 France @ Cabaret Sauvage with Brain Damage June 21 Greece @ Release Athens Festival   June 23 France @ Festival Notes en Vert   June 25 France @ Festival Rencontres et Racines   June 27 Israel @ Barby Club opener: Young Israelites June 29 France @ Le Mas Des Escaravatiers   June 30 We are using cookies on this website to give you the best, most relevant experience. 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Further information on cookies can be found in our privacy policy parts of France and Italy saw heavy rain and flooding over the weekend two people have died as a result of severe flooding in the south east of the country One man was drowned after his basement flooded in La Londe while the other victim was swept away in flood water in his vehicle in Pierrefeu who is believed to have been sleeping in his boat in La Londe Particularly badly hit was the department of Var in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region in south eastern France La Londe-les-Maures and Le Lavandou – which is about 40km from Toulon – were worst affected Le Luc and Flassans have also been affected Precautionary evacuations took place in Les Arcs Puget-sur-Argens as levels of the Argens river rose rapidly There are also concerns about the le vels of the river Gapeau Emergency services also had to airlift around 150 people to safety after their homes were flooded in La Londe and Lavandou were left without power and around 50 roads were blocked The floods occurred in France after heavy rainfall which was particularly bad on Sunday 19 January 2014 With similarities to the situation in the south of England the ground is so saturated in areas across south east France that any further rain could well result in more severe flooding Some areas of Var saw between 120 to160 mm of rain on Friday 17 January This amount is greater than the average total amount of rain seen in January in the area A state of natural disaster is expected to be declared by the government on Monday a move which would release state funds for flood relief Northern Italy also saw huge amounts of rainfall over the weekend La Stampa reports that St Mark’s Square in Venice is udner 15cm of water The River Secchia has overflowed in areas just outside Modena Around 100 people had to be evacuated from their homes in Bastiglia one man was injured and another missing after they were swept away in flood water The body of the missing man has since been found Emergency workers had been looking for a man who reportedly took a boat on a canal amid the heavy rain in order to help some people who had become stranded The emergency services found the body of the man earlier today He was a doctor who had been visiting a patient in the area The heavy rain has also caused landslides in Nervi and La Spezia in the area and Viareggio is said to be under 50cm of water Some residents have been evacuated from their homes in Pietrasanta and Alta Versilia Sources: Le Monde; La Stampa Richard Davies is the founder of floodlist.com and reports on flooding news Cookies | Privacy | Contacts © Copyright 2025 FloodList the local food trucks and food courts offer a tasty bite to eat topped with a taste of travel… Let’s savour the moment until we can hop off to distant climes again for real Une publication partagée par Fritta Nostra Toulon 👯‍♀️ (@frittanostra) Une publication partagée par Madjid Lachemi (@lafourchettequiroulemadjid) Une publication partagée par ᕼᗩᒪᒪᗷO᙭'S || ᖴOOᗪ ᑕOᑌᖇT (@hallboxs) Une publication partagée par CHICKEN SOUL 🍗🧇 (@chickensoul83) We’re pretty sure you’re already familiar with the term “soul food” The term actually refers to the iconic Afro-American dishes born during the tragic era of slavery which became immensely popular in the Unites States from the Sixties onwards you’ll of course find the must-have fried chicken or tasty macaroni and cheese Seduced by this delicious and comforting cuisine during a trip to the US two students from Toulon decided to import the concept into their town of origin with “Chicken Soul” Head to 655 Avenue Colonel Picot to savour a succulent fried chicken homemade burger or waffles topped with maple syrup Best not plan a marathon just after though… More than just a food truck gathering in the Var area the Village des Talents Créatifs flies the flag of sustainable development also features a delicious eatery with several counters serving locavore dishes prepared with organic produce We’re crazy about Le Burger Français Another favourite is the colourful and tasty Cuisine du Monde by Foodbox recipes Une publication partagée par ESPRIT FESTIVAL (@espritfestival)