The thing we especially look forward to at this time of year is heading to the northern hemisphere for a couple of weeks. It’s a welcome break from heat, humidity, and right now the heartbreaking drought conditions that’s affecting so much of our wide, brown (read: burnt) land. We love the whole, over-the-top festive razzamatazz that takes over our favourite cities such as London and of course Paris.
Paris Plus Plus has great pleasure in presenting the first three etchings of sketches of Paris by well-known Australian architect-turned-artist, Rodney Moss. Rodney has generously offered to donate all profit from the sale of Notre Dame from the Seine to the Notre Dame Restoration Fund, established by the French Government. We are delighted and honoured to participate with Rodney in this cause that is dear to our hearts.
“I dream of designing a magnificent vessel for Paris that symbolises France’s profound cultural vocation.”
With these words, the famous Canadian-American architect, creator of Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum (1997), gave his blessing to the opening, in October 2014, of his latest masterpiece, the Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris. We were lucky enough to be in Paris that week and joined perhaps 10,000 others for its first open weekend.
Built in 1859, this former elevated railway viaduct came into Paris from the east, terminating at Place de la Bastille in the 12th arr. After the creation of the RER A line in 1969 the Viaduc de Bastille became redundant, gradually declining into another example of neglect and decay that was slated for demolition. Instead, under a bold urban renewal program by the City of Paris in the 1980s, the Viaduc’s fortunes were revived.
The famous passages couverts—covered passages—of Paris were an early form of shopping arcades, mostly dating from the first half of the 19th century. By the 1850s, there were around 150 covered passages in Paris, although Haussmann’s massive urban renewal program of Paris saw a number of these demolished. Of those that remain, some are still dusty and forgotten, awaiting revitalisation, but there are many that have been beautifully restored to their original Art Nouveau or Neoclassical splendour. Here are just some of them.
