The district of La Défense is not yet a district that attracts other than professionally. When the time comes to put down the pencils, few are those who stay to take advantage of the immensity of the place. Rarer still are those who go to the neighborhood without working there. It is from this image that La Défense wants to separate itself. Michel Desvigne, the landscape architect in charge of the project, recognizes that this will not be easy.
Because a park, although unknown, already exists in La Défense. Designed by Dan Kiley in the 1970s, it was already intended to make the inhospitable environment of La Défense – cold and windy in winter, hot and blinding in summer – more pleasant. It is clear that the expected effects have not fully taken. But, according to Michel Desvigne, his work lays a very solid foundation for creating an efficient and sustainable park.
A redesigned Defense
As for the temperature, it shouldn’t be getting any better. The La Défense district is one of those heat islands that could scare away potential residents, workers or passers-by. This is one of the reasons that prompted Georges Siffredi to request the creation of the “Park”. Five hectares of greenery, which, by 2030, should make La Défense the first “post-carbon” business district in the world. Thanks to this stretch of 600 meters, overlooking the Arc de Triomphe, the district should reduce its carbon footprint by 50%.
“No more mono functionality” is the idea of Paris La Défense. The business district should, in the coming years, become a place of relaxation, leisure, entertainment and culture. According to Olivier Schoentjes, director of urban and real estate projects at La Défense, if the district does not yet suffer from a lack of attractiveness, it does, however, have a “great need for a change of image. “It is necessary, according to him, to get out of the “round trip” journey metro-office-metro, by “allowing the development of new uses. »
A project that wants to involve the actors of the district
Yes, the district must evolve, attract new types of visitors. The Park will also open paths to the towns of Courbevoie and Puteaux. Nevertheless, La Défense remains and will remain a business district, as evidenced by the construction of the TotalEnergies tower. It is by taking into account these two particularities that the project is built. “Our decarbonization strategy is built in partnership with businesses,” certifies Georges Siffredi, before continuing: “I consider it our duty to involve them in transforming our cities. »
As far as passers-by and residents are concerned (42,000 inhabitants in La Défense), in 2019, Paris La Défense conducted a consultation with the inhabitants of the district. This confirmed the certainty that the neighborhood needed to be transformed. The 2020 experiment is in this a first step. Residents and workers now know what to expect: more greenery. Nevertheless, according to Olivier Schoentjes, the real phase of dialogue is “in front of us. “Workshops will be developed in the coming months with local residents, but also with users of La Défense living a little further away.