La Défense
La Défense | |
---|---|
Country | France |
Region | Île-de-France |
Department | Hauts-de-Seine |
Communes | |
Area | |
• Total | 5.6 km2 (2.2 sq mi) |
Population (2022) | |
• Total | 50,000 UTC+2 (CEST) |
Website | parisladefense |
La Défense (French:
La Défense is Europe's largest purpose-built business district, covering 560 hectares (1,400 acres), for 180,000 daily workers,
The district is located at the westernmost extremity of the 10-kilometre-long (6.2 mi)
History
La Défense is named after the statue La Défense de Paris by Louis-Ernest Barrias, which was erected in 1883 to commemorate the soldiers who had defended Paris during the Franco-Prussian War.
In September 1958, the
was signed and soon abandoned.In the early 1970s, in response to great demand, a second generation of buildings began to appear, but the economic crisis in 1973 nearly halted all construction in the area. A third generation of towers began to appear in the early 1980s. The biggest shopping centre in Europe (at the time), the Quatre Temps, was created in 1981. In 1982, the EPAD launched the Tête Défense competition to find a monument to complete the Axe historique, which eventually led to the construction of Grande Arche at the west end of the quarter. During the same period, hotels were constructed, the CNIT was restructured, and in 1992, Line 1 of the Paris Métro was extended to La Défense, which made the area readily accessible to more of the city.[citation needed]
On
After a stagnation in new development in the mid-1990s, La Défense is once again expanding and is now the largest purpose-built business district in Europe.
Major corporations headquartered at La Défense include
On 9 September 2008, La Défense celebrated its 50th anniversary with a huge fireworks display.[8]
In December 2005, Bernard Bled, CEO and chairman of EPAD (La Defense Management and Development Office) announced an ambitious nine-year development plan called "La Defense 2006–2015". This important modernisation plan has to give a new dimension to the district and focuses on four main axes: regenerate outdated skyscrapers, allow new buildings, improve the balance between offices and residential housing, and make the transport of local employees from their homes to La Défense easier. There are three aims: building 150,000 square metres (1,600,000 sq ft) of offices within demolition/rebuilding projects, building 300,000 square metres (3,200,000 sq ft) of offices within new projects, and building 100,000 square metres (1,100,000 sq ft) of housing.
In July 2006, the government confirmed this plan, which has to be carried out around 2015. It is justified by the strong estate pressure, which plays in favour of building new skyscrapers near Paris. Those constructions have the advantage of being more economical than small buildings. But it will have to overcome some difficulties: the French economy faces a short-term slowdown; the government is trying to balance tertiary sector employment in the whole region again, because today La Défense concentrates a major part of those jobs; and traffic is already saturated in the district, while it would need huge investments to extend transport infrastructures.
It launched high-profile international competitions and/or construction approval of several key 300-to-320-metre (980 to 1,050 ft) tall sustainable development-style skyscrapers such as
Education
Paris La Défense brings together the cluster of
Area specifications
- Divided into 4 major sectors[1]
- 1,400 acres (5.7 km2)[1]
- 3,500,000 square metres (38,000,000 sq ft) of offices[1]
- 310,000 square metres (3,300,000 sq ft) of flagstone and sidewalk[1]
- 245,000 square metres (2,640,000 sq ft) of shops (including the 140,000 square metres (1,500,000 sq ft) Westfield Les Quatre Temps Shopping Mall)[1]
- 110,000 square metres (1,200,000 sq ft) of greenery[1]
- 180,000 employees[1]
- 70,000 students[1]
- 50,000 residents[1]
- 2,600 hotel rooms[1]
- 1,500 businesses[1]
- 500+ companies[1]
- 150 restaurants[1]
- 61 skyscrapers, 76m (250 ft) average building height[1]
-
The name of the district comes from the statue of La Défense de Paris by Louis-Ernest Barrias which commemorates the Parisian resistance during the Franco-Prussian War.
-
View from Arc de Triomphe at night.
-
View from Eiffel Tower.
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The Mall "Westfield Les Quatre Temps", one of Europe's largest shopping center.
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Western part of La Défense as seen from the Grande Arche.
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La Défense from the top of the Grande Arche.
Open-air museum
Besides the representative architecture, the area also houses an open-air museum with 70 statues and pieces of modern art,[6] including the following works:
- César, Thumb (1965)
- Joan Miró, Two fantastic characters (1976)
- Alexander Calder, Red Spider (1976)
- Yaacov Agam, Fountain (1977)
- Richard Serra, Slat (1982)
- Shelomo Selinger, The Dance (1983)
- Bernar Venet, Two Indeterminate Lines (1988)
- Takis, Bright Trees (1990)
- Igor Mitoraj, Tindaro (1997)
- Emily Young, Four Heads (2002)
- Patrick Blanc, Green wall (2006)
- Louis-Ernest Barrias, La Défense de Paris (1883)
- François Morellet, La Défonce (1990)[12]
- Guillaume Bottazzi, Peinture de 216 m2 (2014)[13]
-
Guillaume Bottazzi, Untitled, c. 2014
Highrise buildings
Completed highrise buildings above 50 m (164 ft) (1967–2024)
Name | Built | Use | Height | Levels | Municipality | |
metres | feet | |||||
Tour First (formerly tour AXA) | 1974/2011 | office | 231 | 758 | 50 | Courbevoie |
Tour Hekla | 2022 | office | 220 | 722 | 51 | Puteaux |
Tour Majunga | 2014 | office | 194 | 636 | 47 | Puteaux |
Tour Total (Coupole) | 1985 | office | 187 | 614 | 48 | Courbevoie |
Tour Engie (T1) | 2008 | office | 185 | 607 | 37 | Courbevoie |
Tour Granite (Société Générale) | 2008 | office | 184 | 600 | 37 | Nanterre |
Tour CB21 (formerly tour Gan) |
1974 | office | 179 | 587 | 42 | Courbevoie |
Tour Areva | 1974 | office | 178 | 584 | 44 | Courbevoie |
Tour Saint-Gobain | 2020 | office | 178 | 584 | 39 | Courbevoie |
Tour D2 | 2014 | office | 171 | 561 | 37 | Courbevoie |
Tour Alicante (Société Générale) |
1995 | office | 167 | 548 | 37 | Nanterre |
Tour Chassagne (Société Générale) |
1995 | office | 167 | 548 | 37 | Nanterre |
Tour EDF |
2001 | office | 165 | 541 | 41 | Puteaux |
Tour Carpe Diem | 2013 | office | 162 | 531 | 38 | Courbevoie |
Cœur Défense | 2001 | office | 161 | 528 | 40 | Courbevoie |
Tour Alto | 2020 | office | 160 | 525 | 38 | Courbevoie |
Tour Adria (Technip) | 2002 | office | 155 | 509 | 40 | Courbevoie |
Tour Égée (Ernst&Young) | 1999 | office | 155 | 509 | 40 | Courbevoie |
Tour Ariane | 1975 | office | 152 | 499 | 36 | Puteaux |
Tour Trinity | 2020 | office | 151 | 495 | 32 | Courbevoie |
Tour Dexia (CBX) | 2005 | office | 142 | 466 | 36 | Courbevoie |
Tour Europlaza | 1995 | office | 135 | 443 | 31 | Courbevoie |
Tour Défense 2000 | 1974 | residential | 134 | 440 | 47 | Puteaux |
Tour Eqho (formerly tour Descartes) |
1988 | office | 130 | 427 | 40 | Courbevoie |
Tour Les Poissons | 1970 | mixed | 129.5 | 425 | 42 | Courbevoie |
Tour France | 1973 | residential | 126 | 413 | 40 | Puteaux |
Tour Franklin | 1972 | office | 120 | 394 | 33 | Puteaux |
Tour Sequoia (Bull, Cegetel, SFR) | 1990 | office | 119 | 390 | 33 | Puteaux |
Tour Winterthur | 1973 | office | 119 | 390 | 33 | Puteaux |
Tour CGI (CB16) | 2003 | office | 117 | 384 | 32 | Courbevoie |
Tour Neptune |
1972 | office | 113 | 371 | 28 | Courbevoie |
Préfecture des Hauts-de-Seine | 1974 | office | 113 | 371 | 25 | Nanterre |
Grande Arche | 1989 | monument, office | 110 | 361 | 37 | Puteaux |
Tour Manhattan |
1975 | office | 110 | 361 | 32 | Courbevoie |
Tour Aurore | 1970 | office | 110 | 361 | 29 | Courbevoie |
Tour Eve |
1975 | mixed | 109 | 358 | 30 | Puteaux |
Tour Initiale | 1967 | office | 109 | 358 | 30 | Puteaux |
L'archipel | 2021 | office | 106 | 353 | 24 | Nanterre |
Tour Nuage 1, Tours Aillaud | 1976 | residential | 105 | 344 | 39 | Nanterre |
Tour Nuage 2, Tours Aillaud | 1976 | residential | 105 | 344 | 39 | Nanterre |
Tour Gambetta |
1975 | residential | 104 | 341 | 37 | Courbevoie |
Tour Cèdre |
1998 | office | 103 | 338 | 26 | Courbevoie |
Tour Opus 12 |
1973 | office | 100 | 328 | 27 | Puteaux |
Tour Athéna |
1984 | office | 100 | 328 | 25 | Puteaux |
Tour Europe |
1969 | office | 99 | 325 | 28 | Courbevoie |
Tour AIG |
1967 | office | 99 | 325 | 27 | Courbevoie |
Tour Prisma (Tour Kvaerner) |
1998 | office | 97 | 318 | 25 | Courbevoie |
Tour Atlantique |
1970 | office | 95 | 312 | 27 | Puteaux |
Tour Pascal |
1983 | office | 95 | 312 | 27 | Puteaux |
Tour Pacific | 1992 | office | 90 | 295 | 25 | Puteaux |
Skylight | 2017 | residential | 76 | 249 | 19 | Puteaux |
Rose de Cherbourg residence | 2018 | housing | 75 | 246 | 20 | Puteaux |
Tour Eria | 2021 | mix | 59.35 | 195 | 13 | Puteaux |
Upcoming highrise buildings (2024–2027)
Name | Use | Height | Levels | Municipality | Status | Estimated Year of Completion | |
metres | feet | ||||||
The Link | office | 244 | 801 | 52 | Puteaux | under construction | 2025 |
Tour Sister 1 | office | 229 | 718 | 55 | Courbevoie | approved | 2027 |
Tour des Jardins de l'Arche | office & hotel | 210 | 656 | 54 | Nanterre | approved | 2027 |
Tour C/ (Odyssey) | office | 187 | 613 | 42 | Courbevoie | approved | 2026 |
Tour O/ (Odyssey) | mix | 174 | 570 | 33 | Courbevoie | approved | 2026 |
Tours Sister 2 | office | 131 | 396 | 26 | Courbevoie | approved | 2027 |
Tour D/ (Odyssey) | mix | 101 | 331 | ? | Courbevoie | approved | 2026 |
Canceled projects
- Tour Sans Fins (1989): 425 m (1,394 ft)
- Hermitage Plaza (2022): 323 m (1,060 ft)
- Tour Generali (2011): 319 m (1,047 ft)
- Tour Signal (2009): 301 m (988 ft)
- Tour Phare(2018): 296 m (971 ft)
See also
- Paris La Défense Arena
- List of tallest buildings and structures in the Paris region
- List of tourist attractions in Paris
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Key figures". ParisLaDefense.com. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ^ a b c "La Défense, Tout sur ce quartier d'exception". Ville de Courbevoie. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
- ^ "La Défense near Paris. Shopping. Map". Paris Digest. 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
- ^ "Paris La Défense Arena, Europe's largest indoor arena". 2 March 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
- ISBN 1-74059-849-0.
- ^ a b La Défense > Artworks: Guide 2013. Leaflet published by Defacto, Établissement public de gestion du quartier d'affaires de la Défense.
- ^ "Portrait of the RER A". RATP. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
- ^ "La Défense : 50 ans d'histoire" Archived 19 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine 9 November 2008, Danielle Birck (in French)
- ^ IA Institut s’apprête à devenir un pôle d’enseignement de référence autour des datas et de l’IA
- ^ Le ministère des Armées recrute des profils cyber à l'Epita
- ^ ÉTUDIER
- ^ "La Défonce | Defacto – Quartier d'affaires de la Defense". Ladefense.fr. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
- ^ "Une oeuvre géante de Guillaume Bottazzi à La Défense | Defacto – Quartier d'affaires de la Defense". Ladefense.fr. 30 September 2014. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
Further reading
- Schaugg, Johannes: High-Rise Buildings – La Défense, Books on Demand 2009, ISBN 978-3-8391-4523-4.
External links
- Satellite image from Google Maps
- La Défense de Paris
- Site officiel de l'EPAD (Établissement Public pour l'Aménagement de la Défense) (in French)
- Connecting-Paris, web site created by the Chamber of commerce and industry of Paris to help companies setting up in La Defense (in English)
- Expatriates Magazine, A printed publication distributed within various corporations situated in La Defense helping international employees integrate within the workplace and city (in English)
- Les bâtiments de la Défense (in French)
- Structurae: Structural engineering and architecture guide to Paris-La Défense (in English)