La Défense #9: Tour EDF
By Hans-Josef Jeanrond on Sunday 15 April 2007, 10:55 - La Défense - Permalink
Master of elegance and space management, Ieoh Ming Pei has left his mark on
Paris with the Louvre pyramid and then with this landmark tower at La Défense.
For those of you who don’t know the building, I include the “postcard image” on
the left. (Click on the image to enlarge)
The ogive form would not have been terribly interesting without the scooped-out
concave part at the front. The “flying saucer” covering the entrance completes
the concave form perfectly. I am impressed. And I was surprised that a
state-owned, conservative company like EDF commissioned headquarters of such a
markedly modern design. Maybe they got more than they had bargained for. It
appears that Pei watched over the “purity” of his design and opposed the
addition of the EDF Logo at the top of the tower. Compared to the banner with
the slightly childish new EDF logo that indeed blighted the look of the
building for a while, the large but discrete logo that is now fixed there is
much more in keeping with the style of the building.
When work started, one wondered whether any significant construction could
be raised on such a small ground. At that time, the tower was planted in the
middle of buildings of a previous generation. In the meantime, the neighbouring
Crédit Lyonnais Tower has been stripped down to its steel skeleton and
rematerialized as OPUS 12. Its glass façade provides a reflecting surface for
its surroundings, as you were able to see in previous postings. The shopping
centre on the other side of the EDF tower is undergoing major surgery right
now. (see Posting "A view from the top")
In the following two images you can see the change from the old Crédit Lyonnais
building to Opus 12. The new building offers a mirror to the EDF Tower,
enhancing its presence.
The concave part of Tour EDF reflects a rather slim image of the massive
Cœur Défense building.
(Click on the image to enlarge)
The two juxtapositions of curves, those of the Calder sculpture and of the
EDF tower have already been presented in previous postings. Compared to the
morphing of the new Tour Phare, they will appear like rather austere
curves.
(Click on the images to enlarge)
"Through the Looking Glass"
In this image, the EDF building exists only as a reflection, rather
"déconstruit", the only "real" part being the disk above the entrance. As soon
as you “enter” the building, you are "beyond the mirror". A fascinating image
that appears so clearly only at a certain light and a certain hour of the day.
Like all mysteries. I hope Lewis Carroll would have enjyed this
image.
Talking of "mysteries", take another look at the twilight image of the EDF
tower, featured already in previous postings:
Comments
When for the first time I looked up at this concave from the esplanade of La Defense it somehow made me think of the Tour Eiffel...