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The overhauled La Samaritaine department store is now open in Paris after an $894 million restoration that has kept the building closed since 2005. The new Samaritaine features a rippling glass veiled facade, covered patios, repaired skylights, and an updated 1907 roof that gives the shopping... View full entry
The Parisian Archdiocese responsible for the custodianship and refurbishment of Notre Dame Cathedral is issuing an appeal for more donations after an initial push of nearly $1 billion following the devastating 2019 fire and partial collapse that captured the hearts of Catholics and culture lovers... View full entry
Originally planned for spring 2020, L'Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped was delayed due to the pandemic. It will enrobe the Champs-Élysées landmark in almost 25,000 sq. m of silvery blue fabric, made of recyclable polypropylene, and 7,000 metres of red rope. — The Art Newspaper
Following the pandemic-forced cancellation of the original spring 2020 event and the death of the co-creator Christo in June of that same year, the monumental, temporary work of art L'Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped has been revived to be on view after all, from Saturday, September 18 to Sunday, October... View full entry
French experts are combing the country’s forests for centuries-old oaks to rebuild the Notre Dame spire that was destroyed by fire. [...]
Last July, Macron announced the spire would be reconstructed exactly as it was. This is expected to require up to 1,000 oaks aged between 150 and 200 years old.
— The Guardian
Rebuilding the fire-damaged Gothic cathedral hasn't been easy: construction crews were impacted by COVID-19 safety measures, and since French President Macron decided to ditch the modern spire and restore it to its "last known visual state" based on Eugène Viollet-le-Duc's 19th-century... View full entry
The Centre Pompidou in Paris will close for three years from the end of 2023 for essential maintenance work, the museum announced [Monday] in a statement. The plan is for France’s national museum for Modern and contemporary art, designed by Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano and inaugurated in 1977, to reopen in time for its 50th anniversary in 2027. — The Art Newspaper
The renovations will reconcile corrosion and wear and tear that has been affecting the building. Moreover, the work will remove asbestos within the structure, "meeting safety, technical and energy standards and making the building accessible for people with reduced mobility," reports The Arts... View full entry
The mayor of Paris has said a €250m (£225m) makeover of the Champs-Élysées will go ahead, though the ambitious transformation will not happen before the French capital hosts the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Anne Hidalgo said the planned work, unveiled in 2019 by local community leaders and businesses, would turn the 1.9 km (1.2 mile) stretch of central Paris into “an extraordinary garden”.
— The Guardian
The Champs-Élysées, History & Perspectives study, led by French architect Philippe Chiambaretta of PCA-STREAM, explains the potential of the major urban overhaul: "The overall vision for the district located between the Champs-Élysées roundabout and the Arc de Triomphe builds up the... View full entry
After years of construction and pandemic-related delays, the Bourse de Commerce — Pinault Collection in Paris has revealed a new opening date: on January 23rd (health regulations permitting), the 113,000-square-foot private museum of French billionaire François Pinault is set to welcome the... View full entry
Snøhetta just celebrated the opening of another major building in the 13th arrondissement in Paris: the new headquarters for French media conglomerate Le Monde Group will be able to house all 1,600 employees together under one roof, gathering six newsrooms that used to be scattered across the... View full entry
MVRDV has completed a new flagship store in Paris for French lingerie brand Etam, renovating a 19th-century Haussmann building by removing its internal barriers and adding a glass floor to allow light to fill the interior. The project sits at a corner site on Boulevard Haussmann, in one of the... View full entry
The Centre Pompidou in Paris could close for up to three years for essential maintenance work to be carried out on the famous 1970s building. The plan is one of two options under consideration by the French government who will decide how to proceed with the multi-million euro refurbishment. — The Art Newspaper
President Emmanuel Macron of France on Thursday dropped the unpopular idea of building a modern spire atop a restored Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, a possibility he had floated after a devastating fire sent the previous spire crashing through the roof. [...]
But the idea of a modern spire never caught on with critics or with public opinion, and Mr. Macron never committed to it.
— The New York Times
French President Macron's decision to let go of his long-championed vision of a contemporary spire for the fire-damaged Gothic cathedral comes one year after the French senate passed a bill approving the government's restoration plan under the condition that Notre Dame be restored to its "last... View full entry
It has been a year to the day since a fire devastated the Notre Dame cathedral, causing its spire to collapse and leaving the 850-year-old church's future in doubt. [...]
But with the coronavirus shutdown bringing restoration efforts to a standstill -- and the country's attention now focused elsewhere -- the somber anniversary is set to pass with little fanfare.
— CNN
Click here to catch up with Archinect's complete coverage that followed the devastating news of the Notre Dame blaze on April 15, 2019. #notredame #paris #incendie #désastre pic.twitter.com/jpNosqFGGp— Kinsley Laurence (@KinsleyLaurence) April 15, 2019 The moment the cathedral's spire... View full entry
The restoration of the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, which was badly damaged by fire on 15 April, has entered a new and delicate phase. This involves removing a vast and heavy scaffolding structure at roof level that became fused by the intense heat. It had been erected before the fire in order to carry out restoration work on the 19th-century roof spire, whose dramatic collapse was seen on screens around the world. — The Art Newspaper
For The Art Newspaper, architect Francesco Bandarin gives a detailed account of the crucial next step in the efforts to restore the fire-damaged cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. "The removal of the scaffolding requires three levels of steel beams to be positioned around its exterior to form... View full entry
Though the French capital and its suburbs house less than one-third the population of California, the region produced more new homes last year than the entire Golden State. — The San Francisco Chronicle
MIT Urban Planning doctoral candidate Yonah Freemark, writing in The San Francisco Chronicle, highlights the successes that have taken shape in Paris in recent years with regards to increasing housing production and affordability. The recipe for success, according to Freemark’s... View full entry
The Champs-Élysées, often called the “most beautiful avenue in the world”, is not what it was. The pavements are cracked, the trees that line the cobbled, traffic-clogged road struggle to survive in one of Paris’s most polluted areas, and Parisians stay away.
Now local community leaders have unveiled an ambitious €250m (£212m) project to restore the celebrated 1.2 mile (1.9km) long avenue to at least some of its former glory.
— The Guardian
"The ambitious plans include reducing the space for vehicles by half, creating tunnels of trees and encouraging more aesthetic use of commercial spaces such as terraces," The Guardian lays out some details envisioned by Paris-based architect Philippe Chiambaretta of PCA-STREAM. So far, the... View full entry
