The Antigone project dates back to 1979, when the newly-elected municipal council of Montpellier decided to undertake vast urban development on some twenty hectares of land near the city centre. The purpose of this town-planning operation was to develop a new district which would provide for the city’s balanced eastward expansion and link the historical centre to the river Lez. Ricardo Bofill’s Taller de Arquitectura drew up the master plan that has breathed stylistic unity into a district of streets and squares, green zones, housing facilities, shops, schools and sports, cultural and administrative facilities.