LA DEFENSE ON OCCASION

La Défense is not an entry-level venue for tourists to Paris, but on occasion a stroll along its vast elevated esplanade with suspended gardens and some 60 sculptures and works of art is indicated. Paris' major business quarter is also Europe's largest purpose-built business district. Most Parisian high-rise buildings--containing more that 3 million square meters of office space-- are grouped in this zone.

A buzz for armchair tourists and architects: a complete photographic directory of buildings in the district  as well as numerical architectural renderings of buildings in progress, projected on the contemporary skyline. Annuaire des tours et bâtiments de La Défense.

A favorite photographer's backdrop  on the esplanade is Raymond Moretti's (1931-2005) Cheminée, a 30-meter high sculptured tower of concrete and fiberglass tubes that conceals a ventilation shaft.

Text & photos ©2011 P.B. Lecron