View source for Grande Arche

{{Short description|Monument to humanity in Greater Paris}}
{{Infobox building
|name               = Grande Arche de la Défense
|native_name        = 
|native_name_lang   = fr
|image              = La Grande Arche de la Défense.jpg
| image_size=290px
|caption            = 
|location           = [[La Défense]], [[Île-de-France]], France
|coordinates        = {{coord|48|53|34|N|2|14|09|E|region:FR|display=inline,title}}
|start_date         = 1985
|completion_date    = 1989
|inauguration_date  = 14 July 1989
|height             = {{cvt|110|m}}
|opening            = 
|building_type      = office
|antenna_spire      = 
|roof               = 
|top_floor          = 
|floor_count        = 
|elevator_count     = 
|cost               = 
|floor_area         = 
|architect          = [[Johan Otto von Spreckelsen]]<br/>[[Erik Reitzel]]
|structural_engineer= 
|main_contractor    = 
|developer          = 
|owner              = 
|management         = 
|references         = 
}}
'''{{lang|fr|La Grande Arche de la Défense}}''' ({{IPA|fr|la ɡʁɑ̃d aʁʃ d(ə) la defɑ̃s|lang}}; "The Great Arch of the Defense"), originally called '''{{lang|fr|La Grande Arche de la Fraternité}}''' ({{IPA|fr|fʁatɛʁnite|lang}}; "Fraternity"), is a [[monument]] and building in the business district of [[La Défense]] and in the commune of [[Puteaux]], to the west of [[Paris]], France. It is usually known as the '''{{lang|fr|Arche de la Défense}}''' or simply as '''{{lang|fr|La Grande Arche}}'''. A {{convert|110|m|ft|adj=mid|-high}} cube, La Grande Arche is part of the perspective from the [[Louvre]] to [[Arc de Triomphe]], and was one of the [[Grands Projets of François Mitterrand]]. The distance from La Grande Arche to Arc de Triomphe is {{convert|4|km|mi|frac=2|abbr=in}}.<ref name=ParisDigest>{{cite web
  |url= https://www.parisdigest.com/monument/la-grande-arche.htm |title=Grande Arche Paris facts |year=2018 |work=Paris Digest |access-date=2018-09-10
}}</ref>

==Design and construction==
[[File:Grande Arche de La Défense et fontaine.jpg|thumb|left|Grande Arche at night]]
A great national [[Architectural design competition|design competition]] was launched in 1982 as the initiative of French president [[François Mitterrand]]. [[Denmark|Danish]] architect [[Johan Otto von Spreckelsen]] (1929–1987) and Danish engineer [[Erik Reitzel]] (1941–2012) designed the winning entry to be a late-20th-century version of the [[Arc de Triomphe]]: a monument to humanity and [[humanitarian]] ideals rather than military victories. The construction of the monument began in 1985, with most of the work being carried out by [[France|French]] civil engineering company [[Bouygues]]. Spreckelsen resigned in July 1986 and ratified the transfer of all his architectural responsibilities to his associate, French architect [[Paul Andreu]]. Reitzel continued his work until the monument was completed in 1989. The Grande Arche is in the approximate shape of a cube with a width, height, and depth of {{cvt|110|m}}; it has been suggested that the structure looks like a [[hypercube]] (a [[tesseract]]) projected onto the three-dimensional world.<ref>{{cite web
  |last=Du Sautoy|first=Marcus|title=A 4 Dimensional Cube in Paris|url=http://www.mathsinthecity.com/sites/4-dimensional-cube-paris|work=The Number Mysteries|access-date=17 June 2012|archive-date=14 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160114023543/http://www.mathsinthecity.com/sites/4-dimensional-cube-paris|url-status=dead
}}</ref>  It has a [[prestressed concrete]] frame covered with [[glass]] and is covered in Bethel Granite.

''{{lang|fr|La Grande Arche}}'' was inaugurated in July 1989, with grand military parades that marked the bicentennial of the [[French Revolution]]. It completed the line of monuments that forms the {{lang|fr|[[axe historique]]}} running through Paris. The Grande Arche is turned at an angle of 6.33° about the vertical axis. The most important reason for this turn was technical: with a [[Paris Métro]] station, an [[Réseau Express Régional|RER]] station, and a motorway all situated directly underneath the ''Arche'', the angle was the only way to accommodate the structure's giant foundations. In addition, from an architectural point of view, the turn emphasises the depth of the monument and is similar to the turn of the [[Louvre]] at the other end of the {{lang|fr|axe historique}}. In addition, the ''{{lang|fr|Arche}}'' is placed so that it forms a secondary axis with the [[List of tallest structures in Paris|two of the highest buildings in Paris at the time]], the {{lang|fr|[[Eiffel Tower|Tour Eiffel]]}} and the {{lang|fr|[[Tour Montparnasse]]}}.

The two sides of the ''Arche'' house government offices. The roof section was closed in 2010 following an accident without injury<ref>[http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2010/08/11/le-toit-de-la-grande-arche-de-la-defense-definitivement-ferme-au-public_1397833_3224.html Lemonde.fr], ''[[Le Monde]]'' (11 August 2010)</ref> and the marble tiles which had begun to peel off were replaced with granite ones. It opened again in 2017 after seven years of renovation work. It features panoramic views of Paris and includes a restaurant and an exhibition area dedicated to photojournalism.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sortiraparis.com/en/news/in-paris/articles/138676-la-defense-grande-arche-rooftop-an-unobstructed-view-over-paris|title=La Défense Grande Arche rooftop: an unobstructed view over Paris|website=www.sortiraparis.com|accessdate=10 March 2023}}</ref>

The void contains skeletal shafts for panoramic lifts and a [[polytetrafluoroethylene|PTFE]]-and-[[fibreglass]] [[membrane structure|tensile-membrane]] sunshade known as the "Cloud" (''{{lang|fr|Le nuage}}'').<ref>{{cite web | url=http://archiexpo.com/prod/hightex/product-58335-524257.html | title=NUAGE LÉGER GRANDE ARCHE - PTFE architectural membrane by Hightex &#124; ArchiExpo }}</ref>

The Danish architect, von Spreckelsen, chose Italian [[Carrara marble]] for the tile cladding of the façade, for the marble's gleaming, milky white exterior.  This caused structural problems, as marble is porous, rainwater got into its pores, and when the temperature froze, the ice in its pores cracked the marble, and tiles began buckling and falling down, luckily without, however, hitting, injuring or killing anyone.  The monument had to be closed for a few years while French engineers (von Spreckelsen had retired from the project before it was completed and was dead by the time of the collapsing tiles) had the marble tiles removed and replaced with granite quarried in [[Vermont]], which has proved durable, at a cost of some €200M.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="170px" heights="130px">
File:Arc De Triomphe from the Grande Arche.jpg|View of the Arc de Triomphe from the Grande Arche
File:Christmas decoration at the Grand Arche.jpg|Christmas decoration at the Grand Arche
File:GrandeArche.jpg|The ''Grande Arche'' seen from the ''Arc de Triomphe'' on the ''Axe historique''
File:North facade of the Grande Arche de la Défense - 20050906.jpg|North façade of the Grande Arche de la Défense
File:Western part of La Défense as seen from the Grande Arche - 2020-07-07.jpg|Western part of La Défense as seen from the Grande Arche
File:La Defense Jazz Festival 2023.jpg|The 2023 La Défense Jazz Festival takes place under the Grande Arche
</gallery>

==Tenants==
Organisations headquartered in the Grande Arche include the [[Bureau d'Enquêtes sur les Événements de Mer]] (BEAmer), the French marine accident investigation agency; and the [[French Land Transport Accident Investigation Bureau]], in the southern portion.<ref>"[http://www.bea-mer.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/contact-us-r54.html Contact us]." [[Bureau d'Enquêtes sur les Événements de Mer]]. Retrieved on 22 June 2017. "Bureau d’enquêtes sur les événements de mer (''BEAmer'') Arche Sud 92055 LA DEFENSE CEDEX FRANCE" – Note the [http://www.bea-mer.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/IMG/jpg/acces_pietons_arche.jpg pedestrian access map]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bea-tt.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/organisation-a1228.html|title=Organisation|language=fr|publisher=French Land Transport Accident Investigation Bureau|access-date=2024-07-27|quote=Grande Arche - Paroi Sud, 29e étage, 92055 LA DEFENSE Cedex}}</ref>

==Cultural representations==
Stéphane Demoustier's 2025 film ''[[The Great Arch]] ({{lang|fr|L'Inconnu du Grande Arche}})'' dramatized von Spreckelsen's efforts to realize the project.<ref name=mintzer>Jordan Mintzer, [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/the-great-arch-review-claes-bang-stephane-demoustier-1236215860/ "‘The Great Arch’ Review: Claes Bang Captivates as an Unknown Danish Architect Battling French Bureaucrats to Build His Monumental Work"]. ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'', 16 May 2025.</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|France|Architecture}}
* [[List of tallest buildings and structures in the Paris region]]
* {{lang|fr|[[Paris La Défense – Une Ville En Concert]]}}

== References ==
{{reflist|refs=}}

== Further reading ==
* François Chaslin et Virginie Picon-Lefebvre, ''La Grande Arche de La Défense'' Electa-Moniteur, 1989
* Erik Reitzel ''Le Cube ouvert. Structures and foundations'' International conference on tall buildings. Singapore, 1984. {{ISBN|9971840421}}
* Erik Reitzel ''Les forces dont resultent quelques monuments Parisiens de la Fin du XXe siècle'' Le pouvoir et la ville à l'époque moderne et contemporaine, Sorbonne 2001. {{ISBN|2747526100}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* [https://www.lagrandearche.fr/ Grande Arche] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170526013426/http://www.lagrandearche.fr/ |date=2017-05-26 }} (French and English)
*[https://maps.google.com/maps?q=paris,+france&hl=en&ie=UTF8&z=18&ll=48.892755,2.235991&spn=0.003135,0.006351&t=k&om=1&iwloc=addr Satellite image from Google Maps]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150315010721/http://fromparis.com/la-defense-district-under-storm.html Panorama during a storm]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090102172758/http://www.insecula.com/oeuvre/O0018992.html Grande Arche] (in French)
* [http://www.eri.dk ERI.dk]
* [http://www.art-days.com/arche-de-la-defense-paris-johann-otto-von-spreckelsen/ Grande Arche pictures in Art Days] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010004452/http://www.art-days.com/arche-de-la-defense-paris-johann-otto-von-spreckelsen/ |date=2017-10-10 }}

{{La Défense}}
{{Puteaux}}
{{Grands Projets of François Mitterrand}}
{{Visitor attractions in Paris}}
{{Skyscrapers in France}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Portal bar|France|Architecture}}

[[Category:Triumphal arches in France]]
[[Category:Skyscraper office buildings in La Défense]]
[[Category:Monuments historiques of Hauts-de-Seine]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Paris]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1989]]
[[Category:Esports venues in France]]
[[Category:1989 establishments in France]]