"Forme publique" Biennial event for the invention of street furniture at La Défense
Creative biennial for urban furniture at La Défense
In a public place, it's imperative to be able to remove oneself, take shelter, concentrate and think alone. The public users of the Esplanade de la Défense, mainly businessmen and women, are subjected to frantic rhythms, and may, for a moment, look for a place to relax, to rest their gaze, to detach themselves.
The idea is to revitalize the Esplanade by acting on specific hotspots, to better resonate with the memory of the place and provide visual and sensory reference points.
By superimposing two images of the past, users discover the era in which the CNIT was created, an image in which the first towers replaced factories and temporary workers' shelters and farmhouses of which no trace remains. The other image from the past that is highly symbolic, represents the historic Parisian route or "voie royale": the straight road that runs from the Louvre to the La Défense district, offering a major urban perspective of western Paris.
This new space links the history of La Défense's past with the world of today. It becomes a space for readjustment, isolated enough from surrounding buildings to be detached, to allow visitors a moment of calm.
Plug-in to prepare for action
Lightweight, ephemeral and sustainable furniture that keeps visitors attentive to the passage seasons and thus of time.
A place to gather and reflect on the passage of time, on living, natural landscapes.
The succession of seasons provides an opportunity to recuperate natural debris: salvaged, naturally recycled materials drawn from the surrounding area, such as plank timber, tree branches, panels of woven branches, and dead leaves. These reclaimed materials are used to make the walls and roofs of the furniture, to improve insulation against winter winds.
A typology of wooden elements is proposed: two ramps - for diagonal passages across the site; two platforms with benches and shelters - for resting and looking across visual fields.
Five wooden benches surrounded by perennial grasses form the initial layout. Grass typology is based on functional traits chosen for their specific qualities and agronomic characteristics.
Species selected include Molinia caerulea, Deschampssia cespitosa, Lythrum salicaria, Solidago, Eupatorium purpureum and Calamagrostis acutiflora.
La Fabrique terrestre, aquatique et aérienne : L’équipe du projet : Christina Ottaviano, Kyoung Seok Park.
Crédits iconographiques : DR, Droit Réservé, Christina Ottaviano ;
https://WWW.parisladefense.com/fr/infos-pratiques/actualites/2024-annee-challenge
https://WWW.parisladefense.com/fr/territoire/projets/le-parc
