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Old Posted Sep 30, 2006, 8:36 PM
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Fabb Fabb is offline
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In a recent publication by EPAD, the authority in charge of the development of La Défense :

Time to reach for the sky

Quote:
In order to become once again a window on modernity and a laboratory for architectural innovation, La Défense must claim its "heavens" ! The crest-like skyline of the business quarter in the west of Paris today has in some respects been inherited from the original development - which envisaged a central axis defined by compositional unity and bordered by lateral alignments, following an adaptation logic consistent with the successive urban planning choices of the last five decades as well as in the economic context. The outcome of this patient "alchemy" is a silhouette that is both heterogeneous and compact, and when seen from Meudon or Mont Valérien in the south, or Asnière or Saint-Denis in the north, gives a sense of cohesion and poetry.

However, the relative uniformity of the outline (consisting mostly of parallel piped towers), the irregular appearance of the axial view and the "altitudinal timidity" of these programmes (nothing over 200 metres) still leaves considerable room for manoeuvre in the imagination of the architect. Where projects combining formal innovation, technological performance, environmental virtues and reaching for the sky positively flourish not only in America and Asia, but also in Europe, (this presents as many arguments for the investor as for the user), it is inconceivable that La Défense should remain trapped under its current ceiling.

Suffice it to say that the international competition blueprints for the next towers in La Défense will go beyond the taboo of height and give it its rightful place on the international skyline !


EPAD's ambition will notably take shape in realizing its plans for exceptional office tower blocks, one of which will reach at least 400 metres. This will be exemplary in respecting the requirements for sustainable development, innovatory in aesthetic and performance terms, value-creating for both investor and user, stimulating to the eye and for the spirit alike. Its silhouette will be an exclamation mark to the continuing La Défense story.
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