Total, First, Areva… The La Défense district is known for its skyscrapers, among the tallest in France. One of them, however, denotes. Slightly out of the way, about ten minutes walk from the Grande Arche, on the territory of the town of Puteaux (Hauts-de-Seine), it is not like the others.
If from the height of its 136 meters and 47 floors, the Défense 2000 tower can look its neighbors in the eye, it is actually an apartment building. Upon arrival at its foot, we understand that the atmosphere has nothing to do with the transhumance of costumes and tailors seen a few moments earlier. A quiet area, a few green spaces and… the cries of children coming from the kindergarten which occupies the ground floor of the building.
1,000 inhabitants, more than 300 homes and 8 lifts
You have to climb a few steps to find yourself in front of the entrance to the impressive building. Excessiveness of the structure, the reception is more like a bunker than a caretaker’s lodge. Whatever, Halyna, from her window, has a word for each inhabitant who enters or leaves the building. A touch of humanity in this gigantism of concrete.
“Everything is disproportionate here, she smiles, there are nearly 1,000 inhabitants, more than 300 housing units, 8 elevators (3 for the north face, 3 for the south face and 2 for the two parking basements) and 32 nationalities. Even the staff seems quite sizeable for an apartment building. In addition to Halyna and her partner Diaby at reception, two security guards guard the premises all night and three cleaning staff are constantly busy in the hallways.
Services commensurate with the cost of living in such a building. “The inhabitants pay a lot of money but they love living here,” says the caretaker. Because if the cold corridors and the decoration are showing their age, the Defense 2000 tower, built in 1974, provides many advantages. Located between the business district and the city center of Puteaux, near the University of Nanterre, the RER and the ring road, “it’s a place that is in high demand”, confirms Halyna.
“Favourites” and “passing residents”
It is not Catherine Rybus who will say the opposite: “When I was young, I lived opposite the tower and I had friends there. I always dreamed of living there one day. A dream realized four years ago when she became the owner of a 100 m2 apartment on the 44th floor. “I had seen others… But when we visited this one with my children, there was not even a discussion. »
Osteopath, Catherine is one of those she calls the “favorites”: Owners living on the highest floors, CSP + who have “the means to pay nearly 800 euros in monthly charges”, specifies t she grimacing. Because as huge as it is, the building sometimes seems a little empty. With the exception of rush hour according to Bertrand, a resident of the 30th floor: “At 8 o’clock, the elevator looks like the metro, it stops every two floors to pick someone up.
“There are different populations here, specifies Catherine, it’s a kind of tower of Babel. “The lower floors are occupied by tenants and many “passing through” residents: “Many apartments are owned by embassies, particularly from Africa and the Middle East. You can see it in the number of diplomatic corps vehicles in the parking lots.”
Housing which is therefore only partially occupied. And that’s not counting the many apartments for rent on AirBnB.
The rest of the world reduced to the state of ants
“There are also ‘medical rentals’. Wealthy people who come for treatment at the American hospital and stay for several weeks. You will recognize them, they walk around the building on crutches, ”she laughs.
A situation that does not facilitate condominium meetings: “Many owners do not have much to do with the building. There is even one who had called to complain that his tenant was no longer paying his rent. The tenant had left for five years…” An obstacle when some hope to transform the unoccupied panoramic top floor.
Regardless, the mother would not leave the building and her apartment for anything in the world. “If you’re not afraid of heights, approach the bay window. No need for more arguments as the view is breathtaking. With its large openings facing north and west, the apartment overlooks the La Défense district. At this altitude, pedestrians and vehicles are reduced to the state of ants: “I even once helped a friend who was driving to find his way around the neighborhood from my window. »
“The impression of living in a lighthouse”
But it’s not megalomania that makes his eagle’s nest an irreplaceable place: “It’s heaven”. Because from her 44th floor, Catherine does not see the same horizon as ordinary mortals: “It often happens that in the morning, the clouds are at our level, creating an opaque veil over our view. A uniform gray thunderstorm for pedestrians offers a multitude of designs for the inhabitants of the tower. “It very often happens to see the curtains of rain falling on the surrounding towns,” she confides, with supporting photos. “The wind, the rain and even the heat, everything is increased tenfold at this height. If we add the absence of vis-à-vis, we often have the impression of living in a lighthouse. »
A privilege that still has some concessions. “We never open the windows wide, because there is always a wind so strong that it upsets part of the apartment. To avoid this, and for the safety of her children, the mother of the family has installed cleats on the windows blocking a large opening. This also limits the sound effects of the neighborhood, because “noise rises” from the street.
Another disadvantage: the apartment can “turn into an oven” in summer. “To prevent the sun from beating directly, I put on survival blankets as a curtain. » An original decoration which, in addition to being effective, brings a soft light to the apartment.
It’s the very specific light of the apartment that he likes the most: “We benefit from the evening light, orange, so special. » As a fan of blade runner (the original), she did not fail to install slat blinds, identical to those of the film.
This life at altitude, the family is not about to abandon it. The eldest son, Stanislas, however, has desires elsewhere: “He is 21 years old and would like to move in with his boyfriend. But when I, one day, put forward the idea of leaving the apartment, he told me that he was ready to take it back”.