La Défense
La Défense was the first and comprehensive business district built in Europe from 1950’s onward. Located west of Paris city-centre, across the communes of Courbevoie, Puteaux and Nanterre, it ends the historical axis, which starts at Le Louvre, continues along Les Champs-Élysées and beyond L’Arc de Triomphe.
From a primarily tertiary quarter, the area now hosts around 20,000 residents and one of the largest shopping malls in Europe (Quatre Temps). Seventy statues and pieces of modern art, including works from Calder and Serra, are located in the open-air museum established in the 1960’s to reinforce the quarter’s international character.
La Défense grew over several phases under the public body of the Établissement Public pour l'Aménagement de la région de la Défense (EPAD), which was purposely established in 1958 to develop and manage the site on behalf of the State. The Centre des Nouvelles Industries et Technologies (CNIT) was the first building to be built in 1958. The first generation of skyscrapers, which emerged around the end of 1960’s, was followed by a taller one towards the mid 1970s, and then by a third in the early 1980s. In 1982, the construction of La Grande Arche completed the historical axis at the western-end of the quarter. The development then stagnated from the mid-1990s onwards.
In 2006 an important modernisation plan of the buildings’ stock and the open spaces was launched to give a new dimension to La Defénse. This new phase is set for completion by 2020. In 2010 the Établissement Public d'Aménagement de la Défense Seine Arche (EPADESA) was created to extend the catchment area of the EPAD and to define a coherent project for the surrounding neighbourhoods.
Reference
Gasco, Anna. 2019. ‘La Défense Paris, New Urban Paradigm’. In The Grand Projet: Understanding the Making and Impact of Urban Megaprojects, edited by Kees Christiaanse, Anna Gasco, and Naomi C. Hanakata, 325-388. nai 010 Publishers.