PARIS’ CBD LA DéFENSE STRATEGIC MASTERPLANAWP

PARIS’ CBD LA DéFENSE STRATEGIC MASTERPLAN FoR LA DéFENSE CBD, PARIS

NEWS: AN EXHIBIT oN THE VISIoN AND PRoPoSED STRATEGY oF THE PRoJECT IS CURRENTLY oN DISPLAY AT LA DéFENSE. UNTIL THE END oF AUGUST

STRATEGIC VISION.REORGANISE THE ‘PRISM’ OF PUBLIC SPACES TO CREATE A SPECIFIC ‘CLIMATE’ FOR LA DéFENSEIn 2012, public institution DEFACTo, selected AWP, office

for Territorial Reconfiguration, (Marc Armengaud, Matthias

Armengaud, Alessandra Cianchetta) in partnership with HHF,

to provide design and implementation guidance for La Défense,

Central Business District. The objective was to conceive a

new strategic master plan for the entire (161 hectares) site

that addressed issues of public space—green space, urban

infrastructure, circulation, transportation and site evolution—

specifically as they relate to the 30 hectare slab.

LoCATIoNLa Défense, Paris, France

CLIENTDEFACTo,

établissement Public de gestion du quartier d’affaires de la Défense

ARCHITECTSAWP

Marc Armengaud, Matthias Armengaud, Alessandra Cianchetta (Partners)

Laureline Guilpain ; Charles Bouscasse, Denis Brochard, Bérénice

Gentil, Amine Ibnolmobarak, Joseph Jabbour, Clara Lamerre, Miguel La Parra Knapman, Noel

Manzano, Maya Nemeta, David Perez, Chloé Raillard (Project Team)

+ HHFSimon Frommenwiler, Simon Hartmann, Tilo

Herlach (Partners)Pierre Escobar (Project team)

ENGINEERS+ LEA (Lighting)

+ GINGER (Engineering, QS)+ JoNCTIoN (Logistics engineering)

+ AFP Conseil (security)

NET SURFACE160 ha

CoMPETITIoN - DELIVERY 2011 to 2012-2014

IMAGES© AWP-HHF, Anna Positano

ABoVEBELoW

Where is that stair going to ?

Is this a public space ?Are we inside a building ?

Where are we ?

Do public spaces have to wait for new towers to change ?

These green spaces are poorly maintained ...

Where could I eat quickly and quietly ?

Where could I park my bike ?

WHY A STRATEGIC MASTERPLAN oN LA DEFENSE CBD ?

THE CHALLENGE OF THE SLAB

The project at La Défense is most strongly defined

by its programmatic and spatial complexity. This

is especially evident in the multi-leveled nature

of circulation, infrastructure, and occupiable

space. What appears on the surface as just a slab,

is in actuality, just a small part of a larger system.

The slab, functioning as a hybrid ground, serves

at once as the pedestrian walkway, a roof to 6

stories of underground infrastructure, and a wall

to surrounding streets all the while floating above

a transportation hub. In this way, it epitomizes the

relationship between landscape, architecture, and

infrastructure.

In response, a set of guidelines proposed by AWP and

HHF re-imagines the slab as a key connector in the

site instead of a barrier, maximizes efficient use of

the space in, on, and around the slab, and develops

a holistic vision for a new cultural and programmatic

culture on the site.

The new plan strategically links Paris to the CDB,

strengthens connections to the surrounding

neighborhood, and integrates the underground

transportation. The guidelines create a framework

under which the CBD can build new towers, remodel

extant commercial properties, design spaces for

exercise and cultural events, install a network of

green and open spaces, expand infrastructure and

transportation, and evolve planning structures

over the next 20 years. This plan also envisions

the long-term evolution of the site and identifies

possibilities to extended infrastructure to adjacent

neighborhoods. Guiding principles for design include:

(1) redefining the ground (through interventions

on the slab), (2) re-establishing the grand axis,

(3) inhabiting in-between spaces, (4) allowing for

a natural invasion, and (5) incorporating shared

spaces.

EXPLORING THE UNDERGROUND

Beneath La Défense lay several train and metro lines

(metro line 1, RER A), a highway (A14 route), and as well

as a large number of parking, but there is little character

to these spaces. The plaza is envisioned as the central

hub of the project, which connects people to all aspects

of their life at La Défense: interface to parking, link

to work, access to the stadium, cinema or shopping

centre. Multi-leveled systems pose a number of serious

challenges and opportunities for design. on the one

hand semi-submerged roadways contribute to a safe

and pedestrian-oriented central plaza, yet permeability

between levels is often weak. In order to formulate the

relationship between vertical and horizontal territories,

a new design strategy is proposed. The surface is cut

through, subterranean parts are day-lighted, visual

connection is established, and circulation systems are

added. The vision is that in the future, the underground

can function as more than a transition route to other

destinations, but rather become a destination in itself,

a meeting place, and a place for programmed activities.

Thus, this axis is the medium to penetrate the greater

richness of the site and, in this way La Défense can

serve as a model for exploiting the full potential of the

underground.

In response to this challenging condition of the site,

it was necessary to develop the theme of “depth” in a

rather literal sense: creating places for living within the

areas now used for parking. Through site analysis and

spatial reconfiguring, were able to re-find 100,000 square

meters of underused spaces in between buildings and

between level changes that have great potential to link

important locations. As part of the intervention’s first

goals, the potential value of the underground network at

La Défense is developed to a maximum extent particularly

as it serves as the interface between subterranean

parking, metro lines, and the elevated walkway that links

office buildings.

ToWARDS A CLIMATE

As we conceived of the new character of the site,

we established a critical relationship between the

visible and invisible components: above ground

and underground, building and infrastructure. Most

importantly, we aim to develop a new “climate” on

the site. While invisible to the eyes, experiential

quality to the site was central; we wanted to create

a space that felt safe, comfortable, lively, and ever

accommodating to the needs of its users. Thus the

climate will be the defining memory of La Défense,

an innovative space full of contrasts that is infinitely

more hospitable than the immense, stark landscape

of the current site.

We were also looking at depth on the site so as to

anchor the buildings and to help overcome the

current sense of it being an illogical pile of disjointed

buildings. If the navigation is strong enough, the

museum, the hybrid landscapes and the event

spaces can extend underground and this new climate

can permeate between layers and link many places.

A developing new nighttime identity for the site is

also of primary concern to the success of the future

of the site. La Défense is strongly contrasted busy

and calm periods (morning/lunch/leaving the office,

day/night, working week/ weekend, seasons…).

Presently, night transforms the space under the

plaza (in a negative sense, couched in the shadows

of the parking garages) and ends in the towers (as

corporate sculpture). By changing the nocturnal

identity of public spaces at La Défense, we can

alter the experience of the site from a series of

spatial constraints to an urbanism of temporal

opportunities. The question of light, and therefore

of a nocturnal plan, is particularly important to

developing this alternative dimension of the site. As

part of the complete proposal, the firm developed

a way to think of the night as a profound untapped

space, which can be enhanced by a lighting system

for a 24-hour, global population. Thus, the plan calls

for a more human, sensitive and artistic approach

to the night, an overarching system of artificial

lighting, choreographing movement through the

site, and temporal flexibility. As new uses integrate

into La Défense, there will be logistical concerns

adjustments to accommodate more nighttime

visitors: new infrastructure like a stadium, parking

garages, attention to lighting and wayfinding

devices, and art installations.

NATURE INVASIoNRE-INHABIT THE DoMAINREDEFINE THE GRoUND RE-GRAND AXIS

1. RE-INVENT MoBILITY/REDEFINE THE GRoUND.

Entryways, thresholds, and circulation routes

between La Défense and the peripheral

neighborhoods were all addressed as crucial

components to future success of the project. The

proposed network of paths and open spaces function

as the connective tissue between currently disjointed

buildings, levels, and areas. Improving navigation in/

under/around the slab is central to the master plan,

as well as to the public’s interaction with the greater

La Défense-area.

2. RE-ESTABLISH THE GRAND AXIS. The Parisian

grand axis is maintained, but it is mutable in response

to existing conditions. The networks of greenspaces

around this new axis are added to, updated, and re-

imagined; they provide the area with new character,

programmatic potential and experiential continuity.

The new network of promenades, planted routes,

a system of way finding devices, and improved

entryways stretch outward from a central spine and

offer direct access to the surrounding neighborhood

and other peripheral sites. The central axis is

envisioned as a rich “oasis” of nature and urban

identity, which fuses architecture, landscape, art, and

community.

3. INHABIT IN-BETWEEN SPACES. An integrated

system of infrastructure will increase access to the

site and ultimately improve navigation within the

4 STRATEGIES FoR A CLIMATE

NATURE INVASIoNRE-INHABIT THE DoMAINREDEFINE THE GRoUND RE-GRAND AXIS

site. Attention to a variety of landscape conditions

creates interim settings, each interesting in their

own right, which give form, focus, and character to

different parts of the site. Simultaneously, a system of

integrated design strategies and aesthetic vocabulary

retains a sense of coherence and integrated whole.

Hard and softscape paths, street furniture and

wayfinding devices were also proposed particularly at

in-between spaces to achieve these goals. Through a

series of analyses aimed at exploring under-utilized

spaces on the site, we discovered 100,000 square

meters that had the potential to be used for program,

circulation, or landscape.

4. ALLoW FoR A NATURAL INVASIoN. The design

proposal maintains that landscape should both

adapt to the context of the plaza and take on a more

radical form, so that it helps define a new character.

The landscape network aims to engage people

throughout the site. We at once respect the existing

infrastructure and site conditions while employing

landscape strategies as a way to occupy and

engage the site. A hybrid of landscape interventions

introduces new landscape typologies and meets a

wide variety of user needs. The proposal includes

hardscape areas that capture vistas and facilitate

easy movement through the site, a plaza for large-

scale gatherings, lawns and fields for recreation and

sport, and quiet gardens for sanctuary.

HoW THE STRATEGIC MASTERPLAN ?

A GLoBAL PLAN BELoW AND ABoVE

SECToRS AND INTERVENTIoN PERIMETERS

TEMPoRALITY oF THE INTERVENTIoN PERIMETERS

T0 1 To 5 YEARS

TECHNICAL GUIDELINES FoR EACH PERIMETER + PRoGRAMMATIC CoSTS

GRAND AXIS

PROJECT PHASES

The first phase of the project includes analysis and

a site diagnostic evaluation. The diagnostic phase

is comprised of analysis that resulted in a series of

data maps. In the case of plan guide public areas

of La Défense, this phase was essential for the

understanding of the site. The first task of the study

was to create a system of representation, to compile

an atlas of public spaces, and gather unpublished

data owned by different actors on the site. A series of

walking workshops were conceived of as a new way

to generate knowledge from the site`s operational

actors: Defacto, employees and residents, and other

visitors to achieve a sensitive experiential mapping

of the visit. These steps helped us the read the site

and break it down into programmatic typologies and

a set of targeted interventions. After the diagnostic

phase, a general program was established based on

our five principles. The five principles set out in the

order of importance, and are grouped under the title

«Towards a climate.» This phase was essential to

the understanding of the site and also for producing

10 themed books which outline the different layers

of public space of La Défense. These strategies

also helped to structure proposals and formulate a

strategy for implementation.

The second phase focuses on infrastructure, there

will be profound changes to the character of the

neighborhood, driven by a stronger engagement with

public space. Wayfinding will be improved, so that

one can take pleasure in walking and driving around

La Défense, as one would in the centre of Paris.

The ring road will mutate into an urban boulevard;

pavements and walkways will be renovated and

connections to nearby Puteaux, Courbevoie and

Nanterre will be improved. As a result, to La

Défense serve as a critical link in a larger network of

streetscape interventions from one bend of the Seine

to the next and between Paris and its surrounding

hinterlands.

Defacto has already begun important work to simplify

and improve access for road users and pedestrians,

upgrade car parking, install a new signaling

system on the plaza, a new lighting plan and unify

wayfinding, street fittings and advertising signs.

PRoGRAMMATIC AXoNoMETRIESPRoGRAMMATIC PERIMETERS PRoGRAMMATIC CoSTSTECHNICAL GUIDELINES

SECToRS AND INTERVENTIoN PERIMETERS

SAISoNS AREA

CoRoLLES, REFLETS, IRIS AREA

ALSACE VoSGES AREA CoUPoLE REGNAULT AREA

FAUBoURG DE L’ARCHE AREA

VALMY AREA DEGRéS AREA BoIELDIEU AREA VILLoN AREA MICHELET AREA

TEMPoRALITY oF THE INTERVENTIoN PERIMETERS

T1 T2 5 To 10 YEARS 10 To 20 YEARS

TECHNICAL GUIDELINES FoR EACH PERIMETER + PRoGRAMMATIC CoSTS

WHAT FUTURE FoR LA DEFENSE ?

NEWS

EXHIBITION / LA DéFENSE 2020 : A NEW VISION

FOR PUBLIC SPACES / FROM JUNE 24TH TO

AUGUST 23RD 2013

NEWS: AN EXHIBIT oN THE VISIoN AND PRoPoSED STRATEGY oF THE PRoJECT IS CURRENTLY oN DISPLAY AT LA DéFENSE. UNTIL THE END oF AUGUST

Inaugurated on June the 24th, the exhibition «La

Défense 2020 : a new vision for public spaces» can

be seen on le Parvis of la Defense this summer. The

exhibition is composed of 4 modules explaining

the 4 strategies, organised along a principal axis

representing the Grand Axis.

This event is the opportunity to let the public know

about the orientation of the strategic masterplan and

to translate Defacto ambitions concerning the public

spaces of la Defense. Plans and images are shown to

the public for the first time.

office for territorial reconfiguration

PRACTICE PROFILE

AWP (Marc Armengaud, Matthias Armengaud, Alessandra Cianchetta)

AWP is an award winning interdisciplinary office for territorial reconfiguration and design. It is based in Paris and Basel (AWP-HHF) and

develops projects internationally working on a wide variety of programmes : architecture, landscape design, strategic planning, urbanism

ranging from major large scale public projects to temporary installations both in France and internationally. The practice was awarded the

French Ministry of Culture’s Prize for Best Young Architects in 2006, and the French Ministry of Transport, Housing and Ecology’s PJU urban

planning award 2010.

AWP is currently working on the strategic masterplan plan for the development of urban space in the La Défense business district, and

designing an iconic 800 m long public space just below the Grande Arche de la Défense, as well as a series of follies and buildings (culture

& leisure). Relevant projects include: the Lantern pavilion in Sandnes, Norway, nominated for the Mies van der Rohe Award in 2009; the

masterplanning of public spaces and mobility for the 230ha Praille-Acacias-Vernets area, Geneva; the construction of the Evry wastewater

treatment plant, France; the sculpture park for the LAM - Museum of Modern, Contemporary and outsider Art of Lille Metropole, France;

the redesign of the public realm for Capodichino airport and the Ferro-Gomma Hub multimodal park in Naples, Italy (with RSH-P) and a

number of international high profile competitions. our portfolio of clients includes several European cities, metropolitan and regeneration

authorities, cultural institutions and developers.

AWP also curates and designs exhibitions for major cultural institutions and regularly writes books and essays. The three partners have

exhibited their work, taught and lectured at architectural venues in Paris, London, Milan, Rome, Barcelona, Beijing, Toronto,

Belgrade, Tianjin, Winnipeg, Geneva, Copenhagen, oslo, Trondheim, Tirana, Lausanne, Montréal, New York and many other places.

FIELDS OF ACTIVITy

Architecture / Master Planning / Design / Landscape Architecture / Public Space / Urban research & Forecasting

www.awp.fr

Photo credit : Gregori Civera

PARTNERS PROFILE

ALESSANDRA CIANCHETTA Alessandra is a partner at AWP and the Director of AWP-UK. Her portfolio of award-winning designs ranges from major

large-scale public projects to temporary installations and mostly focuses on public realm and cultural provision. Among her latest ongoing projects are

the design of a 800 m long iconic public space and follies project for the Jardins de l’Arche, below the Grande Arche de la Défense and around the new

Arena 92; the masterplan for the development of all urban spaces in the La Défense CBD, Paris and a series of small cultural & leisure buildings and follies

in a Park in Poissy (Fr). other relevant projects include The Lantern pavilion in Sandnes, Norway, nominated for the Mies van der Rohe Award in 2009,

the sculpture park for the LAM, Museum of Modern, Contemporary and outsider Art of Lille Métropole, France, the public realm redesign of Capodichino

airport, the Ferro- Gomma Hub multimodal park, both in Naples, Italy (with Rogers Stirk Harbour & partners) and a public square for the high speed

station in Florence (with Foster & partners).

She has also curated and designed exhibitions for major cultural institutions (such as the GAMC, City of Architecture and Heritage and Pavillon de

l’Arsenal, Paris, Fondazione Adriano olivetti, Rome, CoAC, Barcelona, among others) written books and essays (Park Guell, Gustavo Gili, 2002, Alvaro Siza_:

Private Houses 1954_–_2004, Skira 2004 and Nightscapes, nocturnal landscapes, Gustavo Gili, 2009) and lectured and exhibited her work worldwide.

Invited Professor at Columbia University GSAPP The Shape of Two Cities / New York-Paris Special Programme since 2012, Visiting Professor at the Master

«Extraordinary Landscapes», Naba, Milan, Italy, at the Azrieli Visiting Critic at the School of Architecture and Urbanism, Carleton University, ottawa,

Canada, where she currently directs a theory & design DSA. Alessandra has also been a member of the Newham Design review panel in London since

2007. Awarded the French Ministry of Culture Prize for Best Young Architects in 2006 and the French Ministry of Ecology, Sustainability, Transport and

Housing PJU urban planning award 2010, she graduated from the “La Sapienza” Rome, Etsa Madrid and Etsa Barcelona. She later completed advanced

studies on criticism and landscape theory at UPC, Barcelona and Ehess, Paris. She worked with José Antonio Martinez Lapeña - Elias Torres in Barcelona

and with Franco Zagari in Rome, before founding AWP in Paris in 2003.

MARC ARMENGAUD Founding member of AWP, Marc is responsible for the research and experimental projects at the office, being in charge of curatorial

work for exhibitions, publications, lectures and strategic studies. He has directed various interdisciplinary studies focusing on new forms of public

spaces, temporary communities and nighttime mobility for the French Ministry of Culture and Communication and for the City on the Move Institute, PSA

foundation. He is currently directing a prospective strategic study about water networks and territorial policies, “le grand Paris de l’eau”, for the group Suez

Environnement aiming to establish a relation between public spaces and “inhabitable” infrastructures. He curated an exhibition night in themetropolis for

Paris’ Urban Center, Pavillon de l’Arsenal. Marc regularly writes for the architecture magazine D’Architectures and is the author of several books and essays

about architecture and perception issues in urbanism: among others, Nightscapes (GG Barcelona, 2009), L’Estuaire est une region bien intéressante

(in Revue 3030, Estuaire Biennale catalogue, 2009), Corps à corps de la perception et du territoire (ENSAPM, 2009), Espaces invisibles (publiques)

(Voies Publiques catalogue, Pavillon de l’Arsenal, 2006), Drawing movements in the dark (in : Nat Chard, drawing indeterminate architecture, Springer,

2005). Associate Professor at the Paris Malaquais School of Architecture since 2009, Marc directs project studios and regularly organizes workshops and

international seminars. In addition he is often invited to lecture and teach at architecture universities worldwide. Awarded the French Ministry of Ecology,

Sustainability, Transport and Housing’s PJU Urban Planning award in 2010, Marc studied philosophy at Paris Sorbonne University (DEA) and is currently

working on a PhD in Architecture (University of Paris – Est).

MATTHIAS ARMENGAUD Founding member and director of AWP, Matthias is in charge of the practice’s architectural, landscape and urban projects both

in France and internationally (Scandinavia, Italy, Switzerland, China, etc), focusing on public spaces, cultural facilities, infrastructures and large-scale

masterplanning. He is currently working on a several-year mission for Defacto to develop the masterplan for the development of all urban spaces in the La

Défense CBD, and another mission for the state of Geneva concerning the masterplanning of all public spaces and mobility for the 230ha Praille-Acacias-

Vernets area, in the south of Geneva, as well as for the construction of the Evry wastewater treatment plant and that of cultural facilities in Bois le Roi,

France. He collaborates regularly with Dominique Perrault (retail towers, harbours, museum projects) and with ADPI (the architecture department of the

Paris Airport company), both in France and internationally. Founder of the Troll” label and responsible for several strategic studies about nighttime mobility

for the City on the Move Institute and the municipalities of Rome, Copenhagen, Malmö, Paris, Brussels, Barcelona, Helsinki, Rome, Toronto and Belgrade,

he is also founding director of MTMA, and urban trends forecasting agency, and a consultant for future cities for several institutions. Currently associate

professor at ENSA Versailles (Fr) and visiting professor (expert) at Fribourg (Switzerland) Engineering and Architecture school, Matthias has been invited

to lecture and chair juries at several architecture universities (the EPFL in Lausanne, 2009, the ENSA Versailles, 2008, the “Extraordinary Landscapes”

master’s program at Politecnico de Milano, 2006-08, Elisava Barcelona, 2005, Marne-la-Vallée Architecture School, 2003-05, among others).

He won first place at the Forum des Jeunes Architects in 2000; the Tony Garnier urban planning prize, awarded by the French Academy of Architecture

in 2001; the French Ministry of Culture prize for Best Young Architects in 2006, and the French Ministry of Ecology, Sustainability, Transport and Housing,

PJU urban planning award in 2010, Matthias is a graduate from the Versailles School of Architecture, and founded AWP in Paris in 2003.

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