Feature: Building on a Legacy: France's Villeurbanne redefines its Art Deco heart

by Du Jie

LYON, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- A hundred years after its birth in Paris, Art Deco is no longer just a chapter in architecture books. Villeurbanne, a city bordering Lyon, is reshaping its historic Art Deco district.

On a construction site across from the city's twin towers, cranes rise above closed-off sidewalks, marking the Gratte-Ciel Downtown Project, which will double Villeurbanne's downtown area w