They have opened the grand Cathedral in Los Angeles (beating St. John the Divine in NY though they had a 100 year lead, though not beating Rockefeller's Skyscaper Church on Morningside). They did the Getty and soon will come Disney Hall. All in all, a bold statement from our highwaymen cousins.
So what does Paris have to offer, in the urbanism and architecture department?
Bertrand Delanoë is, at the moment, having a "big think" about the fate of automobiles in this fine city. In a few weeks, all downtown will close to them for a day. Symbolic only, but part of a larger pattern.
Here is a list of big sites here in Paris.
First one that is not a piece of architecture but a paradigm of urbanism: Haussman's boulevards, and all the rest. I really must read a book about this man (and about Le Corbusier, I think) since Paris from the ground up is his construction and dedication to Napoleon III. So much of what is lovely is due to this Napoleon, isn't it?
What follows, both the sites and a checklist (courtesy of Great Buildings Online):
Bibliotheque Ste. Genevieve, by Henri Labrouste, at Paris, France, 1843 designed, built 1845 to 1851. - haven't seen it.
Bibliotheque Nationale, by Henri Labrouste, at Paris, France, 1862 to 1868. - called the Richeliu. See previous entries for my thoughts on architecture as theory of mind (the grand domed reading rooms are, essentially, Cartesian minds).
Castel Beranger, by Hector Guimard, at Paris, France, 1890 (circa). - not yet.
Centre Pompidou, by Rogers and Piano, at Paris, France, 1972 to 1976. -- brilliant if you ask me and the building that tells you Paris means business when it comes to rejuvenation, modernism, heterodoxy, and so on.
Eiffel Tower, by Gustave Eiffel, at Paris, France, 1887 to 1889.-- a great looking thing, but consider the very idea of putting up that colossus to shadow over the beautiful 6-story beaux-arts avenues that Haussman had just finished building.
Finnish Pavilion, 1937, by Alvar Aalto, at Paris, France, 1935 to 1937. -- not yet.
Hotel Guimard, by Hector Guimard, at Paris, France, 1912. -- not yet.
Hotel de Beauvais, by Antoine le Pautre, at Paris, France, 1656. -- not yet.
L'Institut du Monde Arabe, by Jean Nouvel, at Paris, France, 1987 to 1988. -- This building, from the outside, will remind you of the World Trade Center. That is, the Arabesque density of abstraction along the surface walls. Apparently there is some ultra-cool solartropic stuff on one of the walls, but I must go see this.
La Grande Arche, by Johann Otto von Spreckelsen, at Paris, France, 1982 to 1990. -- This is, in my opinion, a masterstroke that inaugurates La Defense and its experiment in Skyscaper urbanism just off the western border of Paris. It's a powerful, spare, and historically-resonant itself, though one may not love the mini-city they built around it.
La Sainte-Chapelle, by unknown, at Paris, France, 1238 to 1244. -- This is a rich, petite masterpiece, the private church of the King on the Ile de la Cite.
Le Parisien Offices, by G. P. Chedanne, at Paris, France, 1903. -- not even sure what this is.
Magasin au Bon Marche, by L. A. Boileau and Gustave Eiffel, at Paris, France, 1876. -- Alright, if you must know. But the grocery store in there is amazing! Forget Dean & Deluca or Wholefoods. Seriously, I'm not just doing the ex-pat hamming it up thing.
Maison de Verre, by Bijvoet and Chareau, at Paris, France, 1927 to 1932. -- My friend Frank recommends it highly; privately owned, but I shall visit it.
Maisons Jaoul, by Le Corbusier, at Neuilly-sur-Seine, Paris, France, 1954 to 1956. -- Outside Paris. Not gonna see it.
Musee d'Orsay, by Gae Aulenti, at Paris, France, 1980 to 1987. -- Probably the single greatest "renewal" project I have ever seen. The fabulous old train station, scheduled for demolition, re-appropriated into a massive art museum. But it's not a great museum space, like the Guggenheim. There is just too much, too good architecture there to keep concentrated.
Notre Dame Cathedral, by Maurice de Sully, at Paris, France, 1163 to 1250. -- You know it well. Again, though, this building makes me think of those apartment houses on Morningside Drive near Columbia -- haute beaux everything with a few extra statues of gargoyles to boot. Seems crass, but that's why baroque means what it does.
Ozenfant House and Studio, by Le Corbusier, at Paris, France, 1922. -- not yet.
Paris Metro Entrances, by Hector Guimard, at Paris, France, 1899 to 1905. -- You may have heard about the Surrealist obsession with Praying Mantises and how these Metro entrances resemble them. The idea that those guys had anything to do with any public works is shocking. Imagine Pollock designing the US currency or something? Impossible. Well, not in France.
Paris Opera, by Charles Garnier, at Paris, France, 1857 to 1874. -- really overwhelming. Outside of this building is just too much.
Pyramide du Louvre, by I. M. Pei, at Paris, France, 1989. -- Wow is this thing a hit. But the riff on it in the quad in front of Schermerhorn is not nearly as good. Again, see earlier posts.
Rue Franklin Apartments, by Auguste Perret, at Paris, France, 1902 to 1904. -- not yet.
St. Antoine Hospital Kitchen, by Henry Ciriani, at Paris, France, 1983 to 1985. -- not yet.
St. Louis des Invalides, by Jules Hardouin Mansart, at Paris, France, 1676 to 1691. -- Really an impressive thing.
The Louvre, by Pierre Lescot, at Paris, France, 1546 to 1878. -- You know it, it's rad. Really, really big. Really big.
USSR Pavilion at Paris, by Konstantin Melnikov, at Paris, France, 1925. -- not yet.
Weekend house by Corbu, by Le Corbusier, at suburb of Paris, France, 1935. -- outside of Paris.
Posted by amol at September 19, 2002 11:57 PM