Paris

Although the idea of designing a networked city and country for the masses was appealing, Mitterrand seemed to almost contradict himself in 1981 as he began his push to re- monumentalize Paris, a project which was officially called Grandes Operations d’Architecture et d’Urbanisme, and later known more simply as Mitterand’s Grand Projects. Although a majority of the policies he enacted as president both economically and technologically would be considered modernist by most historians, this project was different. A key tenet of modernism is defined to be “anti-monumental” and much more focused on the future than the past [8]. The program was planned to make major renovations or construct entirely new structures at sites such as the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, and the Grande Arche de la Defense. These monuments were designed to be signs of national pride: “testament[s] to political symbolism and progress,” as well impactful from an architectural standpoint: “eight monumental building projects that in two decades transformed the city skyline” [9]. The Grand Projects draw inspiration from Baroque traditions, which emphasized grand, ornamental design with architecture that was meant to make humans feel small and insignificant. Grand monuments, form before function, planned grandeur – all of these were the key tenets that set the Baroque movement and therefore the Grand Projects at odds with modernism [10]. For more reading on the Baroque era, please click here.