La Defense- The Paris CBD

La Defense - statistics

14 sq.km

3,500,000 square metres (37,700,000 sq ft) of offices .

1,500 businesses (of which 14 from the national top 20 and 15 from the global top 50) .

150,000 employees

20,000 residents

210,000 square metres (2,300,000 sq ft) of shops

2,600 hotel rooms

310,000 square metres (3,300,000 sq ft) of flagstone and sidewalk

110,000 square metres (1,200,000 sq ft) of greenery

La Defense - tourism

The study conducted last year (…) showed that 8.4 million tourists visiting the site each year

Source http://www.ladefense.fr/

Solutions Introduced in La Defense

La Defense has been planned such that it avoids the problems usually met in the CBDs.

The main stations of local and all-country railroad were built under the ground. The A14 road is also placed in a tunnel going under the ground of the CBD.

The district’s surface is almost completely free of vehicle traffic, and the vehicle traffic is isolated from the pedestrians.

The French government introduced the plan ‘’La Defense 2006-2015’’

La Defense 2006-2015

The main targets of the plan are:

• Making transport of employees from different sections of Paris easier and faster.

• Improving the balance between the area of apartments and residences and the offices.

• Replacement of old buildings with new constructions; hence, less area will be needed for new constructions- the plan’s aim is 350 000 sq.meters of offices within demolition/rebuilding projects, and 500 000 sq.meters within new investments

• Construction of modern towers such as Hermitage Plaza (323 m. high) or Tour Generali.

The Transport Solutions

• Direct connection to the Orly airport

• Expansion of the metro and tram routes.

• The road around La Defense is to be transformed into an urban boulevard

• Improved access to roads

The La Defense Map

The Tunnel of La Defense

• The Avenue Charles de Gaulle(an extension of Champs-Elysees) after crossing the Pont Neuilly, goes directly into the Tunnel Defense, and through it is splitting into the main road A14 and the Peripherique- the road around Paris.

The Hermitage Plaza

• The Hermitage Plaza is a project of 2 towers, each 323 m. high, and 93 levels

• The estimated year of completion is 2016

The Cancelled Project- Tour Signal

• The Tour Signal, a project of a 301 m. high tower, was a part of the project of development of La Defense, but has been abandoned in 2010, when the EPAD’s(Public Institution for Development of La Defense) new director has declared that it is unaesthetic, and should not be constructed. The developer also has resigned from continuation of construction.

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