This is an exceptionally exciting time for Paris. Through a raft of bold projects, the city is regaining the ambition and vision that propelled it to the forefront of modernity nearly two centuries ago. Paris is again on a quest to project itself as a leader on the global stage.
Mille Arbres by Sou Fujimoto Architects, Manal Rashdi OXO Architectes, Compagnie de Phalsbourg, Ogic, Morph
This week was unveiled a vast and keenly awaited new building in the center of Paris. While the new Les Halles brings new amenities to Parisians and is without doubt an improvement on what was there before, it is also rife with failings and missed opportunities.
Une part essentielle du caractère de la place Denfert-Rochereau est apportée par les deux bâtiments de la barrière d’Enfer construits en 1785 par l’architecte Claude-Nicolas Ledoux. Un projet mal réfléchi de la Mairie de Paris pourrait compromettre l’intégrité architecturale et paysagère de ce patrimoine important et irait à contresens des objectifs de l’aménagement de la place.
The decisive transformation of Paris in the mid-nineteenth century took place under Napoleon III. But his uncle Napoleon, who held power over France and a broad swath of Europe several decades earlier, had his own notable role in the evolution of the city. In an exhibition now in its final days, the Musėe Carnavalet retraces the impact of Napoleon on the city of Paris.
Paris has a prestigious history, but it is also a living city. A new project in the 15th arrondissement gives a sense of how contemporary developments can create a dialogue with the multiple facets of the existing city in order to densify and enrich it.
Eugène Viollet-le-Duc was a passionate, iconoclastic man who became one of the most influential architects of the nineteenth century. Generations have read his writings, followed his teachings and admired his buildings. Paris’s Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine has recently opened a new show that retraces the work of this inimitable and unparalleled figure.
After a great run of just over a year in hardcover, Paris Reborn has been published in paperback by Picador.
Paris Reborn has been published in simplified Chinese by SSAP, Beijing.
I am delighted that the book is now available to Chinese readers, who are showing great interest in urban issues and to the teachings of Paris’s history.
The Chinese edition contains a new introduction by the author and special illustrations.
I have added a page to this web site with information in Chinese.
More information is available at the book page on the publisher’s web site.
The book can be purchased at dangdang.com.
Marseille’s year as European capital of culture has come and gone. But in the north of the city, an extraordinary cultural and urban experiment begun more than twenty years ago continues.
Friche Belle de Mai is far from the Vieux Port, the historic Panier district that draws tourists from around the world, and the spanking new cultural facilities designed by famous architects. But if you are visiting Marseille and are interested in seeing a living place that reflects the true pulse of the city, this should be your first priority.
As Paris enters the final days of a hard-fought Mayoral race, one thing is clear. The terms of political debate permanently shifted during the administration of outgoing Mayor Bertrand Delanoë, and a remarkable consensus has emerged over environmental concerns.
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