Pensieri

摘要

We consider this project to be an exquisitely architectural accomplishment. One of those that can change the history of a city. With the capacity to settle extremely complicated situations that could never before have been imagined as resolvable in a single stroke of design. The heart of Paris with its ancient and intricate history, the sophisticated modern infrastructure of the city's underground transport, its numerous public and private functions, and finally the "le trou des Halles", the deep inherited hole that had long obstructed the continuity of public space at ground level, have in this project found a unified solution. The previous situation and its many problems became the mainstay of its architectural response. A vast and magnificent canopy welcomes the millions of people who ascend from the Metro to the ground level of Paris. And this breathtaking roof is dedicated to them, as citizens and ordinary people. It is not a triumphal arch, not a Grande Arche , but a plain yet grandiose act of welcome. Once the ground level of Paris is reached, the ascent is reabsorbed in a plaza, which becomes the project's true essence. Open yet sheltered by the Canopée, from which to get one's bearings and to set forth into the Ville Lumiere.