Buildings Phases - Monumentality
(start: end of 1960s)
In the end of the 1960s, the architects had to reconsider their concepts due to changed requirements of the companies. The claim of the big company UAP (Union des Assurances de Paris) was crucial to the change from uniformity to monumentality.
They needed office space of 70.000 m² instead of the present 28.000 m² back then. Many other companies followed.
Of course, Paris did not want to lose its attractiveness and started to change the construction plan. From then on La Défense provided 1,6 Mio. m² instead of 850.00 m² office space.
George Pompidou, president of France in that time, was also fascinated by technical progress and supported the construction of these monumental buildings.
The American open-plan offices served as a model.
The three pictures below show buildings of "monumentality".
Tower GAN (1974, 187m, 46 floors)
Tower Areva (1974, Sector D6, 180m, 44 floors)
Tower Assur (former UAP) (1974, Sector D1, 193m, 39 floors)
(Photographs taken 2007/2008 - buildings renovated)
They needed office space of 70.000 m² instead of the present 28.000 m² back then. Many other companies followed.
Of course, Paris did not want to lose its attractiveness and started to change the construction plan. From then on La Défense provided 1,6 Mio. m² instead of 850.00 m² office space.
George Pompidou, president of France in that time, was also fascinated by technical progress and supported the construction of these monumental buildings.
The American open-plan offices served as a model.
The three pictures below show buildings of "monumentality".
Tower GAN (1974, 187m, 46 floors)
Tower Areva (1974, Sector D6, 180m, 44 floors)
Tower Assur (former UAP) (1974, Sector D1, 193m, 39 floors)
(Photographs taken 2007/2008 - buildings renovated)
GAN
Areva
Assur
But there were several problems connected to these monumental buildings that really functioned like machines wasting energy. Apart from the fact that the French did not like these high buildings because they disturbed their viewing habits, there was another problem which influenced the future development of La Défense intensely: The Oil Crisis in 1972. The demand decreased and this let to a complete building halt between 1974-1978. Building permissions were not permitted any more. Many buildings remained empty or were pulled down. Some projects planned could not be realized and the EPAD was in dept (800 Mio. Francs).
Even the big project "completion of the axis" was not started due to the depression.
Even the big project "completion of the axis" was not started due to the depression.
