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The Paris Business Miracle: How to Make La Defense the Largest Business District in Europe?
La Défense is an important commercial district in the Paris region of France, located 3 kilometers west of the city center, in Hauts-de-Seine in the Île-de-France region. department, covering the towns of Courbevoie, La Garonne-Cologne, Naterre and the Puteaux district. As Europe's largest dedicated business district, La Défense covers 560 hectares, is used by 180,000 workers daily and has 72 glass and steel buildings, 20 of which are skyscrapers, with a total of 3,500,000 square metres of office space. ruler. The district is famous for its spectacular Grande Arche and square, making it one of the tallest architectural clusters in the Paris region.
"La Défense is not only the heart of commerce, but also a model of modern architecture."
The history of La Défense began in 1883 when it was named after a statue called "La Défense de Paris" (The Defence of Paris), which commemorated the soldiers who defended Paris during the Franco-Prussian War. In 1958, public institutions devoted all their efforts to the construction of La Défense, and began to gradually replace the old factories and slums, driving the urban renewal of the area. The first skyscrapers such as the Esso Tower and the New Industrial and Technology Center (CNIT) were built that year, marking the beginning of the commercialization of La Défense.
"La Défense is changing every step of the way and redefining the standards for commercial architecture."
From then until the 1970s, La Défense witnessed several waves of construction, especially after the opening of Paris RER A line in 1974, the convenience of transportation promoted the development of the area. Although the economic crisis in 1973 almost brought construction to a halt, the third generation of skyscrapers in the 1980s led to a revival of La Défense, and in 1981, the largest shopping mall in Europe at the time, Les Quatre Four Seasons, was built. Temps).
As time goes by, La Défense continues to attract global companies to settle in, including French social communications company Société Générale and energy giant TotalEnergies. The tallest skyscraper in the area, Tour First, was completed in 1974 and was renovated in 2011 to a height of 231 meters, making it the tallest residential building in the Paris area.
"La Défense is not only a commercial center, but also a combination of modernity and art."
In terms of educational institutions, La Défense is no slouch, with many high-quality schools, such as the Leonardo da Vinci University Center and several business schools, becoming a An important output place of human resources. There is also a European school in the area, which provides an international standard of education.
In terms of planning, La Défense's development plan was centered around four main axes: renovating outdated skyscrapers, building new facilities, improving the balance between residences and offices, and optimizing the transportation system. In 2005, the La Défense Development Office (EPAD) proposed an ambitious nine-year integrated development plan to respond to growing development needs and improve the area's profile.
Today, La Défense has become a vibrant business community as well as an outdoor art museum with more than 70 modern art works, attracting tourists from all over the world. Eight million tourists visit this place every year, which undoubtedly injects new vitality into the local economy.
"How will the future affect the development and evolution of La Défense?"
Looking back at the development history of La Défense, we can see that it has evolved from an industrial area to the largest commercial district in Europe today. This is the result of the interaction of policy orientation, economic considerations and urban planning. However, with the changes in the global economy, how La Défense will continue to evolve and innovate in the future is still an issue worthy of our deep consideration.
