Little red man...

A few days ago I did a "micro trottoir" (vox populi in English) at La Défense, the business district just outside of Paris. I had to get the people to explain -  in front of a video camera - how they manage to protect their private life from the professional intrusion caused by mobile phones and email. It was pretty hard because no one wanted to talk (they were probably afraid to be recognized by their boss!Anyway, when I finally finished, I managed to get a few good interview clips and... take this gorgeous photo from the side of the Grande Arche as a bonus!

A day at Club Med!

Well... when I say "A day at Club Med", I really mean: "a day near the offices of Club Med", for yes, yesterday morning, for my first day out after my sick days, I had a meeting at 11 rue de Cambrai, a former warehouse area (mid 1850's)  that has been turned into office space in the 1990's. Great location, that look a bit like "Venice" due to the many canals that run through it. The photo is less interesting than yesterday's one, but it's fresher! 

Inspiring ceiling

Next to my apartment, there is a church called Notre Dame de Lorette, that was built between 1822 and 1836 when the area started to be so popular that they badly needed a church for the ever growing population. The outside architecture is very classic (after the Roman basilicas), but the inside is reallly superb. Especially the stunning ceiling that I photographed yesterday afternoon. A real masterpiece made by Hubert-Nicolas Lamontagne.

A beautiful entrance

This time I'll give you more than just a door... Here is a full entrance to a stunning building that I found at 108 rue du Temple in Le Marais. The ceiling, and the door are real masterpieces. I did some research... And found it was built by architect François Lecœur in 1920. And apparently, it's not an apartment building, but a "semi" industrial building (God knows what this actually means!!). The door in particular is a work of art.

Riciotti's nest

I really look up to architects. Not only do they have to know what is physically feasible when they build a building, but on top of that they have to make it original/nice/creative... Hence this one, called Le nid (the nest), a stunning building designed by Rudy Riciotti which is soon going to be completed (the building, not Rudy!). I really fell in love with it and I can't wait till it's opened to the public, for, I read, the inside is going to be as spectacular as the outside...

Classy entrance

Not all architecture is made of traditional Haussmannian buildings in Paris! A couple of days ago, I went to a company party at rue Marbeuf, off Les Champs Elysées and on the way out I saw this building entrance which I thought was going to make a good photo ;-) I checked afterwards and it turns out this building shelters the offices of Ogilvy & Mather France, one of the largest advertising agencies in the world. So no wonder, it looks good!

Paris Flat Iron

I took this photo at the corner of rue de Hanovre and rue du 4 septembre, a street that starts near the Opera. It made me think right away of the Flat iron in New York City. Of course it has only 5 or 6 stories (vs 22 stories for the NYC one!). It's a beautiful building - typical of some of the Paris architecture), but I have been totally unable to find any information about it. 

Man Door

In the 13th arrondissement again when I came across this man in the doorway. I really don't know what he is doing or why he's dressed that way, but he looks like a cross between a motorcyclist and, if you look closely, maybe a roller-derby player. Anyway, I really liked the shot.

Notice something different?

Look at this photo carefully. I know you know this arch (called L'arc de Triomphe), but did you notice anything different? Look closer... Click in the photo to enlarge it... Bingo! The sculptures on each side have been replaced with photos. Why? Because they are currently being renovated - until June 15. The one on the right is the most famous one; it was sculpted by François Rude in 1792 and it bears the name "La Marseillaise".

Theme day: Contrast

Today is the first of the month, so as usual, it's a Theme Day within the City Daily Photo bloggers' community. This month's theme is "Contrast" and I am pretty happy that I saved this photo for the occasion. It's not so much the light contrast that is interesting, but the contrast between modern and old architecture. I took it at Porte de Versailles, where they built a huge exhibition center and this is the view you have from one of the halls - the one closest to the street obviously. As usual, check what the other CDP bloggers have to show.

Statue Hotel Dieu

The same day I photographed La Fête du pain, I took advantage of being on the île de la Cité to venture inside the Hotel-Dieu hospital. According to Wikipedia it's the oldest hospital in Paris- it was founded in 651 AD!  - and is still used today (hopefully, they renewed it since 651!). Needless to say it's a fabulous piece of architecture and I seriously encourage you to enter and visit it if you happen to be on the île de la Cité one day. At the end of the inside garden there is a statue which originally represents a famous French surgeon called Guillaume Dupuytren, born in 1777. But every year, med students dress him fancy... I'm unable to tell you what this character is, but I can let you discover his previous looks!

Pushing the boundaries

Yesterday I took you to the past with Mozart, today let me take you to the future with President Sarkozy! Like I already mentioned, Paris is a pretty small city compared to the other European capitals. The idea of extending its boundaries to the suburbs in order to make a "Greater Paris" area like in London has been in the pipe for a long time, but it is very difficult to achieve. Last year, President Sarkozy asked 10 world famous architects to come up with ideas to reshuffle the space like Haussmann did in his time. The results are interesting - and sometimes spectacular - and can be seen in la Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine until November 22nd. If you cannot make it to Paris, you can have a glimpse on line here or read this article in English.

Inside the Bibliothèque Nationale de France

I work too much! So last night, for once, instead of staying in the office until 8 pm, I decided to air my mind and go to the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (also called Bibliothèque François Mitterrand after a former French President who had it built) to attend a conference by Jean-Marc Jancovici about climate change (he's a scientist, not a politician, which makes him more trustworthy!). Unfortunately, I arrived 5 minutes late and the place was already full so there was no way I could get in. I did not waste 100% of my time however, it gave me the opportunity to take this photo inside the Bibliothèque, which I kind of like ;)

Dôme des Invalides

It's a classic, but it's always nice to see. I also took this photo from the rue Boissy d'Anglas, like the one 2 days ago. It's Le Dôme des Invalides, that I showed several times here, but not from this angle. You don't see much of that kind of architecture in New York, where I just arrived a couple of hours ago ;) But I love skyscrapers too! If you want to join the NYC PDP party on Tuesday 28, around 5:30/6:00 pm. Stay tuned..

More Towers

More towers, yes, but no more like this! As a matter of fact, the next tower that is going to be built in Paris will have very little to do with that kind of quick and dirty 70ish cheap skyscraper - nor with the Montparnasse style tower! - but with a stunning, ambitious architectural project. It will be called "Le triangle", will be located in the 15th arrondissement and will be more like a "vertical city" (in which you'll find apartments, offices, cafés, gardens...) than anything else. It's just a project for the time being, but I really hope it will be built. Have a look at this little video, I'm sure you will agree ;)

Dust to dust, stones to stones, electricity to electricity!

I've been passing by this beautiful industrial building for several weeks now and I have been willing to photograph it for a long time. Last night, I did! It's called Le Losserand (because it's located rue Losserand) and it's an old sub power station built in the 20's, that has been turned into offices this year. The interesting story is that its architect, Emmanuel Saadi, embedded no less than 45 000 solar cells in it, in order to produce some electricity (about 70 80kW/h, which is not much, but better than nothing!). The other interesting part is that they kept its old original structure, its stones in particular, called Meulières and very typical of Paris.

More towers in Paris?

Should there be more towers in Paris? If you look at this photo - that I took in the 13th arrondissement - I bet you'll probably answer "no way"! And though providing Paris is one of the smallest cities in the world (105 km² - 40 sq. miles*) and that the price of housing is way too high for a lot of people, our mayor is considering building new towers for housing. A very difficult decision to make, providing that according to polls, Parisians clearly don't want new ones... If you want to have a look at the projects, check the video here. (*) As a comparison, the area of London is 1 579 Km2 (610 sq. miles) and Berlin 891,75 km2 (344 sq. miles).

Beaubourg Center Pipes

I debated on whether or not to show you this photo or not. For me, it's a bit cliché of many Paris photographs, but I really liked the way it turned out. Of course, it is of the architecture at the Centre Pompidou. People usually say that they really love it or hate it. Me, I personally am in between. Ok, I contradicted myself, but what do you think?

Got deodorant?

Not very far from where I took this photo along the "Coulée verte" (12th arrondissement), I came across this fantastic piece of architecture. These caryatids supporting the building near the Viaduc des Arts are really enormous and so different from the rest of Paris’ buildings. I’m guessing it is from the 30’s by the style, but know nothing about the building. Please do tell if you have more information!
PS: I am currently on vacation so I cannot reply to your comments. I'll read them when I return, on May 7.