Lighting masts, benches, tables, ashtrays, fountains, litter bins, barriers, signs, advertising etc. There are also slabs, cobblestones, ground coverings, wooden decking etc. Public space at La Défense features more than 5,600 items of urban furniture and a wide variety of ground surfaces. For the first time, the Atlas of urban ground surfaces and furniture at La Défense locates and maps all these elements which have been installed over the years, during which this unique, 29 hectare, pedestrian area, raised above the natural ground level has been developed.
With over 80 monumental sculptures, the esplanade of La Défense is known and reputed to be the largest open-air museum in Europe. However, over time an urban laboratory has been added to this museum dimension, evolving as architectural projects have shaped the area and its functionality for residents and other users. Each development project has played a role in its dynamics, creating today a singular landscape, a heterotopia furnished with a multiplicity of objects that, up until now, have never been mapped or listed in detail. Careful observation of existing ground surfaces and furniture provides both insight into the successive transformations that have taken place and keys for considering how this space can be adapted to the challenges of tomorrow.
The Atlas lists and maps the 200 types of different ground surface coverings, organised under three main categories : sealed (51%), raised paving systems (41%) and directly laid paving (5%). It also classifies and locates the 5,670 items of urban furniture, consisting of 2,525 lighting systems, 992 benches, 559 litter and garbage bins, 111 ashtrays, 16 fountains and various types of signs according to their group of usage. This reveals a wide variety of models, with for example 38 types of lighting masts, 47 sorts of benches and 8 designs for bicycle racks.
The Atlas of ground surfaces and urban furniture at La Défense is part of a larger project to transform and decarbonise the area, led by the public establishment Paris La Défense. Through this exhaustive inventory, the Atlas opens up new possibilities for adapting the public space to ecological challenges and improving sustainability and access to the area while at the same time meeting the new expectations of people using it.