A former French prime minister, surrounded by TV news cameras, gestures towards a large image of Lille’s latest architectural icon and praises the dramatic impact “ultra-modern architecture” has made on Lille. On the other side of the city, an artist is working on his latest creation in a former mill that has been modestly and cheaply transformed into a local centre for art. Lille’s European Capital of Culture celebrations are riven with contradictions on the role architecture can play in the regeneration of Europe’s cities. On the one hand, a new architectural exhibition — which was opened last week by the former prime minister, Pierre Mauroy, in a blaze of publicity — unashamedly celebrates the icon. While on the other, a series of projects across the city demonstrates how a less showy approach can forge change.
