Grande Arche

About

The Arch of the Defense or Grande Arche is a monumental building located in the business district of La Défense west of Paris, on the territory of the commune of Puteaux. Its inauguration took place on 14 July 1989, at the time of the two-hundredth anniversary of the Revolution under the name "Grand Arch of the Fraternity". In 2016, L'Arche de la Fraternité is classified and labeled Remarkable contemporary architecture and as such at the "Heritage of the 20th century".

The construction was designed by Danish architect Johan Otto von Spreckelsen. Its realization was carried out by the French architect Paul Andreu and the agency ADP. They were accompanied by engineers Erik Reitzel and Peter Rice.

The Ark does not have the usual shape of a building because it is an openwork cube, which evokes an arc and "is characterized by its simplicity and abstract character. It satisfies both the proponents of modernity by its austerity and the postmodern ones who believe they recognize a typical figure in the history of architecture". This is one of François Mitterrand's great works during his first term as President of the French Republic, conducted on the historical axis of Paris.

He was...