The Grande Arche, La Défense district

The Grande Arche de la Fraternité is a monument in the business district of La Défense to the west of Paris. It is usually known as the Arche de la Défense or simply as La Grande Arche. Image File history File links Summary Photo self-taken in 2005. ... Image File history File links Summary Photo self-taken in 2005. ... The Taj Mahal, commissioned by the Muslim Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, as a mausoleum for his wife, Arjumand Banu Begum. ... La Défense, the latest addition to the Paris region skyline. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) The Eiffel Tower in Paris, as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ...

An international design competition was launched at the initiative of French president François Mitterrand. Danish architect Johann Otto von Spreckelsen (1929–1987) designed the winning entry to be a 20th century version of the Arc de Triomphe: a monument to humanity and humanitarian ideals rather than military victories. Construction of the monument began in 1982. After Spreckelsen's death in 1987, his associate, French architect Paul Andreu, completed the work in 1989/90.   IPA: (October 26, 1916 – January 8, 1996) was President of France from 1981 to 1995, elected as representative of the Socialist Party (PS). ... This article has been translated, and needs attention from someone approaching dual fluency. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe is a monument in Paris that stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly the Place de lÉtoile, at the western end of the Champs-Élysées. ... Humanitarianism is the view that all people should be treated with the respect and dignity they deserve as human beings, and that advancing the well-being of humanity is a noble goal. ... Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... Paul Andreu (born July 10, 1938 in Caudéran / Gironde) is a renowned French architect. ...

The Arche is almost a perfect cube (width: 108m, height: 110m, depth: 112m; it has been suggested that the structure looks like a four-dimensional hypercube (a tesseract) projected onto the three-dimensional world). It has a prestressed concrete frame covered with glass and Carrara marble from Italy and was built by the French civil engineering company Bouygues. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A square A projection of a cube (into a two-dimensional image) A projection of a hypercube (into a two-dimensional image) In geometry, a hypercube is an n-dimensional analogue of a square (n = 2) and a cube (n = 3). ... In geometry, the tesseract, also called 8-cell or octachoron, is the four-dimensional analog of the (three-dimensional) cube, where motion along the fourth dimension is often a representation for bounded transformations of the cube through time. ... Traditional reinforced concrete is based on the use of steel reinforcement bars, rebar, inside poured concrete. ... Glass can be made transparent and flat, or into other shapes and colors as shown in this sphere from the Verrerie of Brehat in Brittany. ... Carrara is a city in the Massa Carrara province of Tuscany, Italy, famous for the white or blue-gray marble quarried there. ... Venus de Milo, front. ... Bouygues (Euronext: EN) is a French industrial group listed on Euronext Paris. ...

The Grande Arche seen from the Arc de Triomphe on the Axe historique

The nearly-completed Arche was inaugurated in July 1989, with grand military parades that marked the bicentenary of the French revolution. It completed the line of monuments that forms the Axe historique running through Paris. The Arche is turned at an angle of 6.33° on this axis however, a peculiarity which has been explained by several theories. In particular, the architect is said to have wanted to emphasise the depth of the monument, while the specific angle was chosen to create symmetry with the similarly-skewed Louvre at the other end of the Axe. However, it seems the most important reason was mundanely technical. With a métro station, an RER station, and a motorway all situated directly underneath the Arche, the angle was the only way to accommodate the structure's giant foundations. Image File history File links La Défense from Arc de Triomphe at dusk, 1996 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links La Défense from Arc de Triomphe at dusk, 1996 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... The French Revolution (1789–1815) was a period of political and social upheaval in the political history of France and Europe as a whole, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based on... The Axe historique (historical axis) is a line of monuments, buildings and thoroughfares that extends from the centre of Paris, France, to the west. ... This article is about the museum. ... Line 5s crossing of the Seine on the Austerlitz viaduct. ... The RER (Réseau Express Régional, IPA , Regional Express Network) is an urban rail network in the ÃŽle-de-France région, notably Paris and its agglomeration. ...

In addition, the Arche is placed so that it forms a secondary axe (axis) with the two highest buildings in Paris, the Tour Eiffel and the Tour Montparnasse. Paris is among the cities hosting the most skyscrapers in Europe: as of 2006 there are twelve skyscrapers with roof height above 150 meters (492 feet) and two more under construction (compared to 9 such skyscrapers in London, 9 in Frankfurt, 6 in Moscow, and 6 in Istanbul). ... The Eiffel Tower (French: La tour Eiffel) is the most recognizable landmark in Paris and is known worldwide as a symbol of France. ... Tour Maine-Montparnasse (Maine-Montparnasse Tower), also commonly named Tour Montparnasse is a 210-metre (689-foot) tall office skyscraper located in Paris, France, in the area of Montparnasse. ...

The two sides of the Arche house government offices. The roof section is an exhibition centre. The vertical structure visible in the photograph is the lift scaffolding. Impressive views of Paris are to be had from the lifts taking visitors to the roof.

In 1999, French urban climber Alain Robert scaled the structure's exterior wall using only his bare hands and feet and with no safety devices of any kind. Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

In the 2004 film, Godzilla: Final Wars, it is one of the Parisian monuments destroyed by the giant insect Kamacuras. shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) is the 50th anniversary film in the Godzilla series of films. ... Kamacuras first appeared in Son of Godzilla. ...

Access

___	located near the metro station: La Défense - Grande Arche.

Line 5s crossing of the Seine on the Austerlitz viaduct. ... Image File history File links Metro-M.png Summary The letter M in a circle, like the Paris Metro. ... The following is a list of all stations of the Paris Métro, sorted by lines. ... La Défense - Grande Arche is a station of the Paris Métro. ...

See also

• List of tallest structures in Paris

Paris is among the cities hosting the most skyscrapers in Europe: as of 2006 there are twelve skyscrapers with roof height above 150 meters (492 feet) and two more under construction (compared to 9 such skyscrapers in London, 9 in Frankfurt, 6 in Moscow, and 6 in Istanbul). ...

External links

• Satellite image from Google Maps
• Panoramas
• Grande Arche (in French)
• Grande Arche (in French)
• (French) Grande Arche Official Website- grandearche.com

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Grande Arche

Coordinates: 48°53′34″N, 2°14′09″E Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... The Wikimedia Commons (also called Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...