25.6.08

"Front de Seine"

I have obviously a tendency to show more of ancient than of modern buildings in Paris. As a change I thought I should now show a bit of the more modern looking waterfront between the Eiffel Tower (southwards, left bank) and the Pont (bridge) de Garigliano (on which you can find the "Telephone Booth" by Frank O. Gehry (see previous post)), passing by the (copy of) the Statue of Liberty (see previous posts). This area has been completely reconstructed since the 70’. The area goes under the name “Front de Seine”. The most recent towers or modest skyscrapers date from 1990 and are the last ones to be allowed to be built within Paris city limits, at least so far. The area includes also the “Parc Citroën”, occupying the space of an abandoned Citroën factory (see previous post) and some even more recent buildings including a new modern hospital (Hôpital Européen George Pompidou), less high. None of the buildings exceed about 100 m (330 ft) and some 30 floors (except a 130 m (425 ft) high chimney for evacuation of smoke and vapour linked to central heating systems).

This is perhaps not "typically Paris", but it's still Paris.

37 comments:

lyliane six said...

Et toutes ces grands buildings appartiennent à des banques, des assurances, des organismes de crédit, Est ce un hasard?
Tiens le ballon, ça me fait penser que j'ai un ticket pour y monter, je vais profiter du beau temps un de ces jours pour y aller.
J'admire les laveurs de carreaux, ce ne sont pas des indiens pourtant ici, car ces derniers construisaient les buildings de New York étant réputés pour ne pas avoir le vertige.

catied said...

Lots of detail and all the angles you captured in your pictures are great! I love the one w/the Eiffel Tower next to the modern building - both seem to be proud to be "Paris".

Shionge said...

This is the 'other Paris' :D I still love it :)

Marie-Noyale said...

I leaved in one of those towers for 3 years before moving to New York..
I guessed without knowing it, I was getting prepared..
between the height of the building,(The view of Paris are fabulous)..and the Statue of Liberty!!

alice said...

A chaque fois que je passe là, je me dis que ces tours sont bien moches mais que la vue ne doit pas être désagréable!

Olivier said...

je suis en total admiration devant les acrobates qui nettoient les vitres de ces building, ta photo est superbe, on voit bien le travail d'équipe. Je sais pas si je l'avais déjà dit, mais la montgolfière, c'est la même société que pour l'aerophare.
tu es déjà monté dedans ?

Bettina said...

Your photos are great Peter, and it's fun to see this side of Paris on your blog as well.
But you're right this is not what comes to mind when one think "Paris", then I usually think golden light, old beautiful limestone buildings etc... and when seeing these buildings I think La Défense, but of course it's not true, it's my touristy point of view.

hpy said...

Ce n'était pas le quartier que j'aimais le plus à Paris, mais l'île avec la statue de la Liberté était quand même bien agréable pour des promenades, et aussi pour faire des photos des 24 h motonautiques de Paris.
Tu aurais du venir hier! (Et on n'a pas bu de l'eau du tout, le soleil brillait, et le ciel était bleu.)

Anonymous said...

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I am now taking a diminishing dose of steroids for my Rheumatoid Arthritis pain and it works. I am pain free. I believe the chemotherapy drug is spelled "Methotrexate" that is used to treat a lot of things from cancer to arthritis and it has side effects that are troubling. So I need to talk to my doctor about it before I take it. Just missing a dose can be a real nightmare.

Anyway, I wanted you to know I stopped-in to repay your visit and comment with mine.

I enjoyed reading your blog post for today of the Front de Seine
and I thought your photography was excellent. I think I like these views better than the old ones and that would be unusual for me since I almost always like old things best. Maybe it is just that I never get to see the new before.

I don't know if you love to read or not but if you do, Peter, you might enjoy going through this bookstore.

I just got my first shipment of used books from Strand's bookstore in New York City, yesterday. They have 18 miles of used books. Think about that. Anyway, they got here and I am totally happy with those I chose to read. I had to start out by just choosing a category, like photography, and go from there. I don't know how in the world they can keep track of so many books.

Look up Strand bookstore or copy and paste the URL here: http://www.strandbooks.com/app/www/p/home/

Anonymous said...

yes,your words reminds me some people who are always more "interested" in ancient things,either to be 'different' or to tell people that they are culturally learned, as a matter of fact,they don't really care about these 'old stuff'. and I really despise these people, a love for the modern things shall never be a shameful thing, why do they need to be so "sham"? (sorry if it sounds a little cynical...)
But some people do love history, they are always keen on discovering the past. I give them the respect,and I think you belong to the latter group.^^

SusuPetal said...

I looked from afar at the silhouettes of some of these building when I was in Paris, but didn't go nearer.

Thanks for showing them.

claude said...

Je préfère quand tu montre les anciens beaux bâtiments de Paris.
Mais il faut tout voir !

yoko said...

Hi, Peter.

I don't like so much hi-rise buildings in Paris. But it is nice to know how the city changes its landscape in the present times.
Enjoying to see a new construction of glass wall windows in your photo.

I think French is very innovative, such as The Tower Eiffel in 1900, The Georges Pompidou Center at Beaubourg (70's), so I can accept these buildings.

Is there another area in Paris like "Front de Seine" ?

I looked at your old post of Frank Gehry's telephone booth. It looks like a windmill or an orchid to me.

Thank you for this post.

Cergie said...

Heureusement que l'on ne construit pas à l'identique, nous habiterions toujours dans des cavernes !
D'ailleurs c'est ce qui est envisagé pour l'avenir : enterrer au maximum les différentes activités hormis le logement. Il faut bien trouver de la place. Ce n'est pas de la science fiction, mais de la raison.

Alain said...

Je suis comme HPY, ce n'est pas mon coin préféré.
Mais quand même, c'est une architecture étonnante, surtout dans les détails, cela fait penser à des cottes de mailles.

J'ai travaillé quelques années dans une tour à La Défense et assis à nos bureaux, on voyait passer les laveurs de carreaux si près de nous et si inaccessibles. Ils apparaissaient et disparaissaient soudainement, comme dans un rêve.

Mona said...

ah! modern architecture!
Reminds me of the book Fountainhead by Ayn Rand! :)

as usual , wonderful photography!

Anonymous said...

tiens j'aime bien le commentaire d'alain très poétique. Bon les bâtiments modernes, ben je sais pas, je n'arrive pas à vraiment les apprécier. Je préfère un bon château fort avec pont levis et tout le tintouin. Mais je suis un peu timbrée comme tout le monde le sait. Et je ne savais pas que la statue de la Liberté était à Paris, on m'aurait menti à son sujet. :-)))
bisous et bonne soirée mon petit piteur

Nathalie H.D. said...

Quel joli trio de laveurs de carreaux tu nous offres ! Moi aussi j'ai aimé le commentaire d'Alain.

Pour une fois c'est un quartier de Paris que je connais assez bien. Un peu plus loin, l'Ambassade d'Australie et le musée du quai Branly avec une belle collection d'art aborigène australien. Je dois être un peu monomaniaque...

Merci de ton passage à Avignon. A défaut d'avoir fait les photos de ton premier mariage, peut-être du prochain ??? :-)

PeterParis said...

lyliane:
On montera en ballon ensemble?

catied:
Let's see how long the new towers will stay there. The Eiffel Tower was planned to be dimanteled after the World Exposition 1889. It has now been there for soon 120 years!

shionge:
Yes, we cannot live and work only in "museum" buildings!

PeterParis said...

marie-noyale:
When did you leave?

alice:
Ca dépend aussi de quel coté et à quel hauteur!

olivier:
Oui, tu m'avais dit. Non, je ne suis pas monté, mais je pense le faire!

PeterParis said...

bettina:
You are so right! There are some other more modern areas in Paris also, but of course it's not where toursits or temporary visitors would first go!

hpy:
Oui, c'est dommage pour hier! Une autre fois!

abraham:
Thanks for this long comment!
Yes, be careful with medecines and side effects. I can see (again) that you are a wise man!

I looked quickly on the "strandbooks" site. Of French history they offer 1167 titles!

PeterParis said...

zoey:
As I saied already above, Paris cannot only be a "museum" for tourists! I have nothing against modern architecture and I appreciate a lot of it, when there is some kind of creative spririt behind. What I hardly appreciate are the too quickly built ones, without phantasy and not well integrated into the general landscape. A lot had to be done in 50's, 60's and 70's to adapt to modern standards of living for a quicky increasing population, but it was not always succesful. My personal feeling about the ones we see on the "Front de Seine" is a bit mixed. Some of the towers are just straight cubes, built in cheap material, some are quite nice!

PeterParis said...

susupetal:
So, now you have seen them once more and a bit closer!

claude:
Oui, il faut tout voir!

yoko:
Yes, there are some other areas. This one has some nice buildings, in my opinion, but for the other ones, it's more doubtful. There is now a debate, if we anyhow will get some new towers. Otherwise, they are mostly just outside Paris, in the suburbs.

PeterParis said...

cergie:
Tu as bien raison! Seulement, il faut le faire "bien" et ce n'est pas toujours le cas. D'autre part, Haussmann a bien détruit une bonne partie de l'ancien Paris et maintenant, le style haussmannien est bien "typiquement Paris".

alain:
Ce n'est pas mon coin préferé non plus, mais... (J'ai déjà commenté ci-dessus.)

mona:
I had to check Google for the book you refer to (should I feel ashamed?). Now, I understand your remark. Good architects are needed!

PeterParis said...

delphinium:
Tu ne savais pas pour la Staute de la Liberté? !!! J'ai fais plusieurs posts la-dessus!! L'original (un petit modèle) est dans le Jardin de Luxembourg. La copie sur l'Ile des Cygnes est un cadeaux des américains à Paris! On fera un tour la prochaine fois que es à Paris! Bises quand' même!

nathalie:
Pour trouver "l'Australie" il faut pourtant aller un peu plus au nord sur les quais et passer la Tour Eiffel!
Je te promets que si je me marie, je ferai appel à toi! (Ce n'est pas pour la semaine prochaine!)

Anonymous said...

Yes, it is Paris !! Very much !

Marie-Noyale said...

J'ai quitté Paris en 1983...
mais avant les tours j'ai aussi habité dans le "vieux" Paris : rue La Vieuville pres de la place des Abbesses.
Bonne journée.

Ming the Merciless said...

Is the last collage of modern build part of the Francois Mitterand (sp) libraries? They look like the impressive buildings I saw just outside of central Paris.

Olivier said...

"olivier:
Oui, tu m'avais dit. Non, je ne suis pas monté, mais je pense le faire!"
il est pas beau de vieillir, on radote, on radote ;o))

Ash said...

A different Paris :-)
But is still wonderful!

krystyna said...

Hi Peter,
I had a biger sentiment to ancient than to modern buildings in Paris, but I can tell you that I change my mind. Modern Paris is so beautiful too.
Best to you!

Anonymous said...

Oh yes, this is Paris, too. It's famous for spectacular architecture. I think these buildings are very photogenic but I wouldn't want to live or work in them.
And there are some really worse ones in the outskirts of Paris.

Shammickite said...

No city is complete without it's modern glass buildings, that's what creates the contrast between the old and the new. And not everyone likes to see old buildings everywhere, the newer arthitecture complements the ancient. That's what makes a great city like Paris!

Noushy Syah said...

The mixture of ancient and modern architectural buildings make a city like Paris so attractive..agreed with the above comment!

Jo's-D-Eyes said...

hi peter,
i think thats its maybe not typical for paris, but also paris the otheray' i like those buildings, very welldone!

joann

Maxime said...

J'aime beaucoup la photo où la tour eiffel se trouve à demi masquée dans la perspective des immeubles miroirs, ainsi que celle qui montre les laveurs de carreaux : un métier qui ne manque pas d'avenir sur le front de Seine !

Anonymous said...

Love the air balloon!