december-2010

Photograph: ©Urbaniste : Christian de Portzamparc
“This is a chance to transform the desolate EU
quarter into a living, integrated neighbourhood”
between the suburbs and the centre (the last two
are not part of Portzamparc’s remit).
There was also a project to build a tunnel
under rue de la Loi, he says, but he and his team
have not included it in their plan. “Tunnels offer
advantages but also many drawbacks,” he says,
seriously. “They require ramps to go down and
ramps to get out and they would be doing so in
a very sensitive neighbourhood.”
Portzamparc is referring to the historic Royal
Park and Palace, which lie off the southwestern
end of rue de la Loi. “Life needs to be brought to
this area. Does a tunnel achieve this?” he asks. The
answer – unstated – is clearly no. Tunnels may get
you from point A to point B, but in between they
destroy a city. “If you manage to spread the traffi c
out,” he says, “it might go less fast, but it will serve
more areas, and it allows the centre to live.”
This is clearly a major issue for Portzamparc.
He explains that in his proposals for “Grand Paris”,
a plan instigated by French president Sarkozy to
transform and unite the French capital’s many
disparate, outlying suburbs, he used the Greek
divinities Hermes and Hestia as inspiration. Hermes
is the god of movement, travel and commerce, he
explains, whereas Hestia is the goddess of home
and hearth. “They are always represented together
on temples so I thought, this is the symbol of the
town itself. The classical town is a perfect union
between Hermes and Hestia.”
What he means is a place where people can
live, work and walk around, and where public
transport connects different parts of the city.
Cars are not banished in this ideal vision of the
city; they are just not allowed to take over.
Bringing Hermes and Hestia to rue de la Loi will
cost hundreds of millions of euros (no estimates
have as yet been mentioned) and take years to
come to fruition. As project leader Erwan Saliva
explains, the urban planning and development
regulations for the district have not yet been
fi nalised and written. The Portzamparc team will
then act as consultants for the Brussels region
and ensure that all new building projects in the
area adhere to their guidelines. When I ask Saliva
how long it will take he shrugs calmly. “Ten,
maybe 15 years,” he says.
Of course, it must be remembered that
Portzamparc’s soaring triple tower may never see
the light of day – a competition may be run for its
design instead, he tells me. Projet Urbain Loi is,
after all, not an architectural blueprint but a set
of strict rules governing building height, density,
green space and so on. But though it is unclear
exactly what the individual buildings will look
like, Portzamparc’s proposed rue de la Loi skyline
is nothing short of spectacular.
It would mean an end to the separation
between the neighbourhoods and communities
on either side of the street and a future in which
eurocrats and residents will dine out in the same
establishments. In 2030 (or thereabouts) the
European Quarter may fi nally be a living place
with a soul. And it won’t be a day too soon.
Above: the
ilôt ouvert
concept
creates space
and light
Ci-dessus : le
concept des
ilôts ouverts
crée des
passages,
des puits de
lumière
METROPOLITAN 111