Today’s entry will be short due to the inclement weather that has made it difficult to explore. I did, however, easily take the Métro to La Défense – an area west of Paris that serves as the city’s financial center.
From a modernist’s point of view, this area could be the most exciting in Paris due to recent plans to revamp the site by renovating and building structures with a focus on "modern creativity". Unparalleled skyscrapers, over sixty museums, residential districts, concert halls and limited automobile access will make La Défense a unique and unrivalled business district, symbolizing the economic aspirations of the French government. Though La Défense is somewhat removed from Paris, it remains very much so linked to the city’s center as a result of the massive, elevated squared Arche de la Défense (La Grande Arche), which appears to be a symbolic gateway into Paris and is directly aligned with the Champs-Élysées and the Louvre. Designed by Johann Otto von Spreckelsen and completed in 1990, La Grande Arche is an amazing 108meters wide, 110meters tall and 112meters deep, housing government offices and an exhibition center inside. In keeping with the current theme of unity between the new and old styles of architecture in Paris, this structure was intended to be a modern interpretation of the Arc de Triomphe, representing humanity instead of military victory. It is appropriate that even in the most modern districts in Paris, there is still an emphasis on the city’s historic background.

-Ian
Philip Johnson Glass House Intern