Quote:
Originally Posted by CaliNative
Back in the 1970s they built that pretty ugly 50+ floor tower in Montparnass on the left bank, but nothing more. Was that due to protests? Is Le Defense still the main skyscraper cluster in Paris? Is there much new construction? Have skyscraper apartment buildings been built anywhere in or near Paris? I like London, with mix of old and new. Paris should build more.
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I don't think the black tower in Montparnasse has ever been ugly. It only looks out of place precisely because they wouldn't build any more skyscraper around, while we could afford it in the 14th arrondissement without demolishing anything significant.
If the very same tower was in Manhattan or at La Défense, everybody would find it as cool or random (depending on their knowledge about modern architecture) as any skyscraper from the early 70s.
La Défense is obviously the main high-rise cluster over here. Almost all the tallest buildings of the metro area are located in that district, that's quite a bunch of office towers nowadays and it keeps on gradually getting bigger.
There are 2 high-rise residential neighborhoods from the 1970s in the inner city.
The
Front de Seine (also known as Beaugrenelle) in the 15th arrondissement and a cluster of Brutalist residential towers in the 13th, mostly over the neighborhood known as
Olympiades, that's at the heart of the largest Asian district of Paris.
Zoning was strict, so no tower would exceed 110m and president Giscard d'Estaing thought skyscrapers were ugly, so he had most plans of the era canceled once he was elected as the head of state. He just didn't like tall buildings.
There are tons of things under construction all over the metro area. It's just a lot of mid-rise urban fabric (say 8 to 18 stories).
It doesn't necessarily mean impoverishment. In case you wouldn't have noticed, skyscrapers no longer really embody any kind of wealth or power.
For instance, both Switzerland and Ireland have virtually no skyscrapers. Yet, their GDPs per capita beat those of both our countries, while they have no fossil fuels, unlike the US that's still in a '
drill, baby, drill to make money' mindset.
I think more skyscrapers would be useful here, as they would help us avoid any further urban sprawl and maybe to develop more gardens in town, simply because piling up more floors in a same building might save some room on the ground.
Other than that, Paris certainly doesn't need the tallest penis in the world to shine.
It is well known as a pretty and carefully planned city, overall.