Le Parc de la Villette
Porte de la Villette
avenue Jean-Jaurès
Paris 19e
France
The Parc de la Villette was developed as
part of an urban renewal plan on the site the former national meat market and
slaughterhouse. Tschumi won a competition for the design of Paris’ largest park in
1982.
Related to his theoretical work on ‘event
space’, his proposal for a distinctly urban park called for the deployment of a
number of abstract, programless structures, dubbed 'follies'. It was intended that the
bright red structures would then house various events and groups related to the activities
of the park. Many do just that, but not all, and not always the activities envisaged.
The design questions the conventional conception
of a park as green open space. While there is plenty of grass here, the
‘natural’ park is clearly designed to express the fact that it is artificial,
domesticated. Several thematic gardens are incorporated into the scheme, offering places
of discovery and unexpected encounters and juxtapositions between seemingly natural and
man-made artifacts.
Jay Berman 1999
How to visit
Take the Metro (Line 7) to the station Porte de
la Villette.
Books and other web
sites
Click the book title to view and to order direct
from
A readable and
particularly well illustrated description of 20 recent archiectural projects in Paris,
including but not limited to the Grands Projets. Includes a map for visiting them.
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