LA DEFENSE PARIS
The
Grand Axis of Paris began in the Tuileries Gardens
in the seventeenth century and was projected beyond
the River Seine in the twentieth century, becoming
the pedestrian core of a major business district.
It runs through the Arc de Triomphe and culminates
in the Grand Arche de la Defense, a hollow office
building topped with an art gallery and viewing
platform. Dan Kiley, the American landscape architect
and garden designer, was responsible for a 0.5 mile
stretch, the Dalle Centrale, between the River Seine
and the Grand Arche. It is an exercise in classical
modernism, embellished with water features and other
works of art. Kiley wrote : "It is filled with
large pools of water animated by jets and waterfalls,
shaded seating areas, earthen bocce courts and open-air
cafes.. Above ground we planted long, linear bosques
of pollarded London plane trees on either side of
the corridor". He insisted on having all four
rows of London plane. West of the Arche, a decked
bridge extends the axis towards St-Germain-en-Laye.
"La Grande Arche"
Six kilometres out from the Arc de Triomphe at the
far end of the Voie Triomphale, has put La Défense
high on the list of places to which Paris visitors
must pay homage. Created by a Danish architect,
Johan-Otto von Spreckelson who won a competition
called by the President Mitterrand, this hollowed-out
cube, weighing 300,000 tons, 110m (352 ft) high
and 70 meters (225 ft) wide (The whole of Notre-Dame
cathedral would fit in its frame), was entitled
"La Grande Arche". This monument, dedicated
to Fraternity, is built of concrete with a facing
of Carrara marble and grey granite. On the esplanade
are works by Takis, fountains, luminous signals
and statues by Mirò. Various ministries have
their offices in the massive supporting pillars,
the human rights commission (Fondation des Droits
de l'Homme) and major corporations have their office
there. The Arche also includes a large exhibition
hall.
Seated up above on the terrace one can admire the
impeccable success of its perspective, whose lines
can be followed to the Arc de Triomphe, along the
Champs-Élysées to the obelisk on the
Place de la Concorde, over the Tuileries gardens
to the Louvre's Cour Carrée, assuming that
the weather is clear and the air free of polluting
fumes.
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