The Grande Arche

In the United States, presidents build libraries. In France, presidents build monuments. The Grande Arche was commissioned by French President Mitterrand, and the winning design was by a Dutch architect. Construction started in 1982 and it was completed in 1990. Each side is 30 stories high and houses government offices and the top is an exhibition space. It was designed to be a modern version of the Arche de Triomphe, which is directly in line with the Grande Arche with a long boulevard connecting them.

Visitors can take elevators up to the top (we didn't) to see some spectacular views of the city. At the top of the stairs are staggered plexi-glass panels that go all of the way across in several rows. Norman explained that when the building first opened, there was a wind tunnel effect and that these prevent people from getting blown over. Tall buildings like these are rare in Paris. Skyscrapers are actually banned in the central city area. There is only one, which was built I think in the 60s. When it was done Parisians decided it was so ugly that there would be no more. The Grande Arche is in a cluster of modern office buildings on the other side of the highway that goes around the perimeter of the center city area. These office towers started going up in the 70s, and Norman said that despite loving modern architecture, that most of them are complete crap. He says that new ones have been getting better in recent years.

Building height has long given Paris a distinct look. Before elevators were invented, officials set a limit of six stories (mainly to assist fire fighting). That stuck, and now almost all buildings are the same height - between 5 and 6 stories. Having long boulevards with lines of equal height buildings on each side is a beloved feature of Parisian streetscapes, and is something you usually don't see anywhere else.