{"id":277,"date":"2024-09-05T13:42:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-05T11:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/neuronthemes.com\/ponte\/?p=277"},"modified":"2025-02-11T19:23:07","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T18:23:07","slug":"la-construction-de-larche-de-la-defense-johan-otto-von-spreckelsen-et-paul-andreu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elips-3d.com\/en\/the-construction-of-larche-de-la-defense-johan-otto-von-spreckelsen-and-paul-andreu\/","title":{"rendered":"Building the Arche de la Defense: Johan Otto von Spreckelsen and Paul Andreu"},"content":{"rendered":"

July 18, 1989, Fran\u00e7ois Mitterrand<\/strong> inaugurates the Grande Arche de la D\u00e9fense, the culmination of celebrations marking the bicentenary of the French Revolution. At the top, the world's great and good parade past, making for a memorable event. But one guest is missing: Johan Otto von Spreckelsen<\/strong>the Danish architect chosen against all odds to design the monument.<\/p>\n

\"Yohan

Yohan Otto Von Spreckelsen<\/p><\/div>\n

The Arche, this titanic cube, is today a Parisian symbol, as indispensable as the Eiffel Tower<\/strong> or the Louvre<\/strong>. Yet behind the rigor of its clean lines lies a complex story of reversals, struggles for influence, grandiose ambitions and bitter disillusionment. Its Danish architect appears imprisoned in his own labyrinth of marble and steel. His ideal of perfection, his dream with fragile wings, will be burnt to a crisp by the ruthless realities of major construction sites.<\/p>\n

From the Louvre to La D\u00e9fense: the historic axis<\/h2>\n

The story of the Grande Arche began in 1981, with the election of Fran\u00e7ois Mitterrand and the arrival of the Socialists in power. Although not announced in his program, his presidency marked the launch of an ambitious policy of major cultural works, unprecedented in the 20th century.<\/p>\n

\"Fan\u00e7ois-Mitterand-

Fran\u00e7ois Mitterrand on the Champs-Elys\u00e9es on May 21, 1981<\/p><\/div>\n

Fran\u00e7ois Mitterrand<\/strong> wants to leave his mark through these major projects that are reshaping Paris: Louvre Pyramid, Op\u00e9ra Bastille, Grande Biblioth\u00e8que, Cit\u00e9 de la Musique, Institut du Monde Arabe<\/strong>... But his ambition goes even further. He wants to extend the historical axis (1) of the Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es<\/strong> beyond the Arc de Triomphe<\/strong>a project dubbed \"Head & Neck<\/strong>a symbol of looking to the future.<\/p>\n

\"The

The historic axis from the Louvre to the Arche de la D\u00e9fense<\/p><\/div>\n

Since the 60s, this site has become a playground for the great architects, each one sketching out his or her dream before seeing it swept away by the winds of power. At each election, a new president erases his predecessor's plans in keeping with the political tradition of the Fifth Republic.<\/p>\n

\"The

The Diapason by architect Pei proposed in 1971<\/p><\/div>\n

The objective is clear: everything must be completed before the bicentenary of the French Revolution in 1989, even if this means braving tight deadlines. But what to build at La D\u00e9fense? UNESCO<\/strong> was envisaged, followed by a new opera house, before the latter was finally moved to Bastille. At the \u00c9lys\u00e9e, the question remains: what function should be given to the future monument in the business district?<\/p>\n

The history of the the Arche de la D\u00e9fense<\/strong> begins as a drawing done in haste on the corner of a table. We decide to create a International Center for Communication (CIC)<\/strong>Without knowing exactly what it entailed, but with an inordinate vision: 60,000 square meters for the CIC, the rest for administration. Building such a grandiose monument without first considering its vocation, its \"program\", is akin to laying the foundations of an edifice on sand. This lack of clear vision will mark the Arche forever, like an \"original sin\".<\/p>\n

An international competition to choose an icon<\/h2>\n

An international competition organized by Robert Lion<\/strong>the president of the semi-public company \"T\u00eate D\u00e9fense\" is announced, and some big names in architecture get involved: Jean Nouvel, Paul Andreu, Norman Foster<\/strong>... and Denmark, Johann Otto von Spreckelsen<\/strong>a discreet director of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, decided to try his luck. He joined forces with Erik Reitzel<\/strong>He is an engineer and professor at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts and the Technical University of Denmark.<\/p>\n

\"Yohan

Yohan Otto Von Spreckelsen and Erick Reitzel<\/p><\/div>\n

In February 1983, on an icy morning in snowy rain, Spreckelsen arrived at La D\u00e9fense with his wife. The landscape is grim: austere, imposing towers stand in an urban desert, without a soul to be seen. The vast, windswept esplanade leads them to a gaping hole, the future building site. The place is so desolate that he figures no amount of construction could make it any worse.<\/p>\n

Yet it was here, in this gloomy setting, that a vision was born. Between gusts of wind and flakes of snow, the idea of a perfect cube takes shape in his mind: a cube of emptiness set in a cube of marble, transformed into a monumental frame. Shivering with cold, he and his wife take refuge in a bistro. Over a hot cup of coffee, he scribbles his idea on a paper napkin. It's a hypercube, that splendid shape where a cube is inside a cube.<\/p>\n

This modest sketch would become the outline of a modern temple, dedicated to openness and communication.<\/p>\n

\"Croquis-de-la-grande-grande-arche\"

Sketch of the Great Arch by Yohan Spreckelsen<\/p><\/div>\n

Back to Copenhagen<\/strong>He holds on to his drawing, convinced of its strength. He loves the idea of the International Center for Communication and believes in its reality, finds it a powerful inspiration and has designed a temple for it.<\/p>\n

It took him three years to realize that he was the only one in France who believed in it...<\/p>\n

At the top of the Fiat Tower, on the 44th floor, with a bird's-eye view of the \"t\u00eate D\u00e9fense\", a prestigious jury meets to write a page of history. Around the table, 13 renowned architects, including Richard Meier<\/strong> and Richard Rogers<\/strong>They examined 424 carefully anonymized projects. Each number hides an architectural dream, and of these, only four will be selected for President Mitterrand's final verdict.<\/p>\n

Two projects stand out. Number 210, presented by Viguier and Jodry<\/strong>impresses with its detailed perspectives and vibrant colors, a testament to its mastery of large-scale projects. In contrast, number 640, by Danish artist Johan Otto von Spreckelsen<\/strong>intrigues with its minimalist audacity: a majestic, almost enigmatic cube. The blurred, poetic drawings seduced some jurors, but left others skeptical, doubting the architect's experience on such a large-scale project.<\/p>\n

\"Project

Project N\u00b0210 by Viguier et Jodry<\/p><\/div>\n

Johan Otto von Spreckelsen, the unknown winner<\/h2>\n

After six days of heated debate, the jury chose four finalists. The projects were brought to life in the form of models at the \u00c9lys\u00e9e Palace, where Mitterrand contemplated them attentively. On May 25, 1983, he decided in favor of number 640, won over by the monumental simplicity of this cube. Johan Otto von Spreckelsen <\/strong>thus becomes the creator of a future landmark for La D\u00e9fense.<\/p>\n

But there's a problem...nobody knows who he is, even Robert Lion<\/strong>He's a senior civil servant and competition organizer who knows everyone in the world of architecture. We call the Danish embassy - unbelievably, no one has heard of this man. We search and search, and after a bizarre call to his home, his son picks up... who thinks it's a bad joke. He doesn't even know that his father took part in this competition in France!<\/p>\n

After a few adventures and the invaluable help of a civil servant dispatched to the depths of Jutland, where the Spreckelsen couple are resting between two fishing trips, we finally find the hero of the story. The unknown architect is invited to Paris for a grandiose press conference. Arriving by train, accompanied by by Erik Reitzel<\/strong> and their wives, he caused a sensation. Tall, charismatic and elegant, Spreckelsen conquers the assembly of journalists from all over the world, transforming his initial anonymity into a dazzling media triumph.<\/p>\n

\"Fran\u00e7ois

Fran\u00e7ois Mitterrand and Yohan Otto Spreckelsen<\/p><\/div>\n

Spreckelsen tells it best: \"Fortunately, the other winners came first. First came the Canadians, who presented a very fine project. They said they'd built lots of schools, thousands of apartments and factories... the finalists had also built lots of things, housing, new housing estates, restaurants, factories... when it was my turn, someone asked me what else I'd done... I replied four churches and my own house. They were thrilled! I didn't get it.<\/p>\n

Later, at the Danish embassy, I was told of their reaction: \"They think you've shown humility. And that you've left out all the housing, schools and everything else you've done between the churches and home\".<\/p>\n

The French thought he had shown a rare elegance in mentioning only the beginning and end of his work.<\/p>\n

This is a first misunderstanding, but not the only one.<\/p>\n

When Johan von Spreckelsen walked through the doors of the \u00c9lys\u00e9e Palace to meet Fran\u00e7ois Mitterrand, there was an immediate rapport. The President would be unfailingly supportive of \"his\" architect. Slender, with white hair and an impeccable black suit, he could have blended into the hushed decor of power... were it not for one detail that immediately caught the president's eye: his shoes. Black clogs, or at least what looked like them.<\/p>\n

Mitterrand never takes his eyes off them, intrigued. This choice of clothing, far from being insignificant, symbolizes the gulf between Danish simplicity and \u00c9lys\u00e9e refinement. It has to be said: two cultures clash, one Nordic, Protestant and rigorous; the other regal and changeable, accustomed to political cant and power struggles.<\/p>\n

Spreckelsen doesn't ignore protocol - on the contrary, he defies it. The misunderstanding is total. We imagine Spreckelsen as a modest Dane from Jutland, a stranger to French customs, when in reality he is a refined aristocrat, master of his image. His shoes, thought to be rustic, are in fact made-to-measure Scandinavian models, very popular in Denmark. Presenting himself at the \u00c9lys\u00e9e Palace in this way is no accident: it's a declaration of independence, a subtle way of imposing his difference and asserting, without a word, a certain superiority. With this simple choice, he is announcing that he will not bend to local custom, but will impose his own vision, even if it means upsetting people.<\/p>\n

\"grande_arche\"

Yohan Spreckelsen and Fran\u00e7ois Mitterrand in front of the model of the Great Arch<\/p><\/div>\n

\"We were happy that day,\" Reitzel wrote in a book published long afterwards.<\/p>\n

Spreckelsen imagined the Ark as a modern sanctuary, a symbol of encounter and unity between peoples, where humanity would triumph over divisions. A meticulous architect, he had hitherto devoted himself to projects on an intimate scale, designing every detail of a few churches in Denmark and his home in Copenhagen, but nothing that predestined him to erect a giant of steel and glass in the heart of Paris. So why did he embark on such an enormous adventure, far from home? Was it a challenge to himself, a desire to push back his own limits? Or was it the call of a dream, to prove that he could compete with the masters of the monumental? No one knows for sure. But with hindsight, we can't help but be amazed by his incredible audacity.<\/p>\n

The \"fantastic lift<\/h2>\n

Mitterrand, concerned about the integration of the Arche into the majestic historical perspective, decided on a life-size test. On August 15, a spectacular scene unfolded: an immense 160-metre crane, one of the largest in Europe, raised a massive slab - a model of the Arche's upper platform, covered in an imitation marble stain - 110 metres above the forecourt. Under the direction of engineer Erik Reitzel<\/strong>This technical feat was later dubbed \"fantastic lifting\" by its author.<\/p>\n

\"Le

Le grand Levage August 15, 1983<\/p><\/div>\n

At the same time, an almost theatrical scene was playing out at the \u00c9lys\u00e9e Palace: an impatient Mitterrand led Spreckelsen and an interpreter through the bay windows and into the park, passing without alerting security. They soon find themselves on the Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es<\/strong>. There, together, they scrutinize the imposing silhouette of the plaque appearing, as if suspended in mid-air, across the sky. the Arc de Triomphe<\/strong>a first glimpse of l'Arche in its historic setting.<\/p>\n

Spreckelsen recounts the conversation: \"We were on the Champs Elys\u00e9es<\/strong> in the middle of the traffic queues, the president, the interpreter and I.\"<\/p>\n

After a while, the president's bodyguards rushed in, completely panicked.<\/p>\n