On December 12th, the urban planning centre and museum, the Pavillon de l’Arsenal unveiled a new permanent exhibition* which devotes over 800 m2 to the past, the present and the future of the Parisian metropolis by means of more than 1000 archival documents, photographs, maps, plans, films and a 37 m2 digital model: Paris, Metropolis 2020, developed in partnership with Google and JC Decaux.
Apur has contributed to this project by providing maps and structured data taken from its database of urban projects for the metropolis, which assemble data originating from numerous partners (City of Paris, Sem..). These data have been put into Google by the Pavillon de l’Arsenal and will continue to be updated as the projects evolve.
This world first, digital model displays the large territories being transformed by projects, new transport networks and the iconic architectures of the city of the future, in their geographical contexts in 2D or 3D. Based on the technology and cartography of Google Earth, Paris, Metropolis 2020 offers a unique interactive way of discovering the metropolis at every level by means of “free or theme-based navigation”. Designed to be regularly added to and updated, this digital model is a participatory undertaking bringing together the key players who are making the city and combining their output in one common, shared tool.
Paris in the Making , retraces the origins of the territory in chronological order and tells the interweaving stories of the Communes which make up the metropolis so that everyone can make sense of the territory of today. The exhibition offers numerous themed reference points which help explain the way the metropolis was structured by the logics of agriculture, aesthetics and road systems, and then transformed, adapted and integrated through a process of urbanisation brought about by demographic, technological, economic and political developments.
Everyone is invited to explore the present and the future “where every day, all sorts and sizes of projects are discussed, exchanged and shared with the inhabitants, with those men and women who make it come alive” writes Anne Hidalgo, First Deputy Mayor of Paris, in charge of Urbanism and Architecture and President of the Pavillon de l’Arsenal, in the preface to the work co-produced to complement the exhibition and dedicated to the metropolitan projects and territories of tomorrow**.
Reclaiming the Seine, continuing to develop the city with care whether it be in the faubourgs or the post-war city, investing in and bringing innovation to new land holdings, improving mobility public transport and public spaces, developing iconic architectural styles, building high…for the first time, Paris in the Making is assembling all the latest developments in metropolitan urban planning and architecture in one place.
The Pavillon de l’Arsenal also offers workshops for children in partnership with the City of Paris Department of School Affairs, and visits organised in collaboration with the association Les Promenades Urbaines.
*Scientific curator : Philippe SIMON, architect and teacher,
Graphic designer : Sylvain ENGUEHARD
** Exhibition catalogue: Paris in the Making
Work co-produced with Connaissance des Arts
44 pages, 9 euros, on sale in the Pavillon bookshop