Sunday 7 March 2010

Bernard Tschumi's Parc de la Villette, Paris


Last week I made a quick trip to Paris - one night and one day - flying with Ryanair from Prestwick, I stayed in the 19th quarter in the north east of central Paris. This was traditionally an industrial area, and a focus of revolutionary action during the nineteenth century until the construction of Haussman's wide boulevards which prevented the barricading of narrow streets.


A canal link to the Seine still remains in use today for transport by barge. The quarter has mainly been "reclaimed" as a leisure facility. The old landing wharves on either side are now broad pavements planted with
trees. The mystery of why so many public areas in France are rough sandy spaces was solved for me when I saw groups of men playing "boules".



The purpose of my visit was to see at first-hand Tschumi's Parc de la Villette. I had been here 7 years ago, and it has changed, mostly because the trees and planting have grown and softened the Parc. The famous and outrageous bright red folies are now frequently obscured by branches.
















Quite a few areas were closed. I wanted to explore the garden of bamboos, a kind of valley of 30 different species bamboo planned by Daniel Buren and others. It contains a sound tunnel with mini waterfalls and electric acoustic music, but this was not accessible. Other garden and play areas such as the garden of mirrors and the garden of shadows were open.











Behind the Parc a huge and dramatic building project was in action.










What were my impressions? The Parc de la Villette feels less radical now than it probably did 25 years ago. Softened by use and planting, its innovations, such as gardens planned by artists, and the raised walkway are part of the landscape architect's vocabulary.




























One feature that remains as uni
que and unintegrated as ever are the folies. These have a wild crazy subversive feel which remains rooted in some kind of familiarity - is it machinery, sculpture, constructivist architecture or even toys? I like them very much. There is such humour in the way they appear all over the Parc sometimes built into other structures, sometimes freestanding, sometimes functional, sometimes completely afunctional.


This post to be continued and amended. Please click on link for complete set of photos on Flickr

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