Docks en Seine
Situated at the level of the river bank, at the intersection of the Austerlitz quay and the Charles de Gaulle bridge, the Magasins Généraux warehouses are among the oldest structures of the city built with reinforced concrete. Designed in 1907 by the architect Georges Morin-Goustiaux, they were lauded at the time for their particularly innovative construction.
Soon transformed into customs warehouses in 1915, these buildings, which were used to transfer goods from barges to trains, played a key role in the expansion of the port and of trade in Paris. For about the last twenty years they have been used by the Saint-Maclou carpet company, and have served as an examination centre and a space for exhibitions and fashion shows.
As the end of an international consultation launched in 2005 by the City of Paris, the Autonomous Port and the SEMAPA, the Caisse des Dépôts group, its subsidiary Icade and the architects Jakob+MacFarlane were chosen for the conversion of the Magasins Généraux through the Docks en Seine project to create a fashion and design space.