A young architect wanders Paris’s empty central neighborhood, documenting the spontaneous and temporary urban life that unfolds there.

For his capstone project in architecture in 1970-1971, Jean Zetlaoui chose to work on the Halles/Beaubourg neighborhood. The wholesale market had already moved to Rungis, but the Pavillons Baltard were still standing. The Centre Pompidou had not yet been built or even completely planned out, but urban renovations had already left a vast informal parking lot. Armed with his camera, Zetlaoui created an astonishing photographic census of this neighborhood on hold.