Fiat Motor Village Revs Up Paris

Designed as “a theatre for our times,” the just-opened Fiat Motor Village is parked on the legendary rond-point of the Champs Elysées. The Village sports five floors of the Italian dolce vita, an image evoked by Fiat’s fabulous automobile brands through the decades. The innovative architecture comes from one of France’s leading designers and includes a transparent glass front that creates the illusion of inside-out space, two restaurants (the NoLita serving fine Italian cuisine, and a café, La Terrazza), and a gallery showcasing the art of young up-and-coming artists. The galleries and restaurant flow around a huge glass “cylinder” which contains the Fiat car models, from the earliest to the latest, while an Italian soundtrack plays throughout the various exhibit halls and public spaces. While the Village is ultimately a temple for Fiat and its brands, this isn’t exactly a stop at the corner car lot... For visitors who crave to experience the latest and greatest in Paris' conceptual trends, this is a whole new level of “wow!”