About the Les Grands Projets, A Contemporary Vision of the Parisian Cityscape Walk in Paris
In 1982 French president Francois Mitterand undertook an ambitious building program in Paris: a series of so-called "grands projets" that would mark his presidency. With the controversial pyramid of the Louvre at their symbolic center, supporters hailed these works as innovative and invigorating, while detractors criticized them as blights on a beautiful city.
During this three-hour traverse of Paris in the company of a noted architect and architectural historian, we will trace the evolution of the Grands Projets from their controversial conception under Mitterrand and their evolution over the past three decades, looking not only at the buildings themselves but framing them within the context of politics and urban development. We'll take an insider's approach, discussing the work of the architects and their patrons and the legacy of the Grands Projets today as the current French president moves forward with his own, equally ambitious program.
We'll begin at the end, so to speak, with
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In 1982 French president Francois Mitterand undertook an ambitious building program in Paris: a series of so-called "grands projets" that would mark his presidency. With the controversial pyramid of the Louvre at their symbolic center, supporters hailed these works as innovative and invigorating, while detractors criticized them as blights on a beautiful city.
During this three-hour traverse of Paris in the company of a noted architect and architectural historian, we will trace the evolution of the Grands Projets from their controversial conception under Mitterrand and their evolution over the past three decades, looking not only at the buildings themselves but framing them within the context of politics and urban development. We'll take an insider's approach, discussing the work of the architects and their patrons and the legacy of the Grands Projets today as the current French president moves forward with his own, equally ambitious program.
We'll begin at the end, so to speak, with the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, located along the Seine. The subject of an international competition won by Dominique Perrault in 1989, this complex of International Style skyscrapers framing a subterranean garden offers a good vantage point from which to consider the role of architecture in Paris over the last thirty years. We'll spend a good amount of time discussing contemporary architecture practice, approaches, and theory in order to set the stage for the other works we'll encounter.
Jumping on the metro (the automated line 14 and soon-to-be automated line 1) we'll discuss the expansion of the metro under Mitterrand and its role in the urban plan of Paris generally. Our second stop will be the monumental entrance of the Louvre (also, mostly subterranean) designed by I.M. Pei in the mid eighties. We'll pick our way through the building in order to understand how it works (and doesn't work) as architecture. We'll also break down the controversies that both threatened and, eventually, strengthened Mitterrand's position and the Grands Projets program.
We'll conclude with a visit to the Grande Arche at La Defense, just beyond l'Arche de Triomphe. Envisioned as early as the 1930s this starkly modern structure was intended to align with l'Arche de Triomphe and provide a 20th century counterpoint to that vista. Situated at the edge of Paris, it will allow us to discuss the role of peripheral and banlieue (suburb) areas to the Grands Projets, from the Parc de la Villette to today's current program.
