Opinions internationales concernant La Défense

Il est vrai que ce sujet peut paraître de prime abord comme étant d'un intérêt limité. Néanmoins, je pense qu'il est toujours intéressant de savoir qu'elles sont les opinions des personnes ayant un regard extérieur sur le sujet. Je viens de lire sur un autre forum un fil où les gens donnent leur opinion sur la skyline de La Défense. Le fil en question a été ouvert début 2003. Ce que je trouve intéressant, c'est qu'il semble il y avoir bel et bien une évolution dans la manière de voir La Défense. Au départ considéré comme une skyline médiocre et sans avenir, au fil du temps, les opinions deviennent de plus en plus positives (en règle général).

Finalement, j'ai décidé de poster ici un condensé des réactions les plus argumentés, de février 2003 à février 2007. 


The skyline is fine. But the buildings in La Defense don't look too good. 7.5
Renell
Manille (Philippines), 6 février 2003


La Defense somehow manages to get a collection of towers that aren't very high, and aren't very good architecturally (apart from the arch, obviously), and it puts them all together, and somehow it looks great. I don't understand... it's not fair...
Bileduct
Londres (Royaume-Uni), 7 février 2003


The buildings are boxy, banal and generally not all that memorable (save for Tour Monteparnasse and La Grande Arche). The clustering of La Defense is great, but that's about it.
Jasonhouse
Tampa (Etats-Unis), 22 février 2003


It really needs T1 and Granite to improve the skyline, otherwise its good. Shame things seem to have slowed down to snails' pace in recent years - only a matter of time before Canary Wharf overtakes it.
Talisker
Newcastle (Royaume-Uni), 20 avril 2003


Amazingly...boring. I'm sorry, it's just not my cup of tea although it does have some stunning buildings here and there, unfortunately it's just not enough. Been to Paris, say ~10 times now? and it actually manages to impress me a bit from time to time so I guess it could change in the future, fingers crossed.
Tictac
Danemark, 30 avril 2003


As has been said before, with the exception of la grande arche there's little brilliant highrise architecture in Paris which is odd given the amount of amazing lower rise buildings. Despite this and its lack of height which is comparable to Istanbul rather than London or Frankfurt it works and works well. La defense looks great from a distance, a really good skyline... Paris too is a great skyline like many ancient European cities and enhanced by all those lower rise churches and govt buildings.
Gothicform
Londres (Royaume-Uni), 28 août 2003


La Defense is very unsatisfactory and the city brands itself as "romance low rise" and is dead in terms of construction of skyscrapers.
Hararean
Harare (Zimbabwe), 7 septembre 2003


I don't believe a city has to have buildings which all fly up to the sky to be beautiful - it just has to be beautiful overall, and Paris passes that test with flying colours!
Joburg
Johannesburg (Afrique du Sud), 25 octobre 2003


I still think this is the best skyline in Europe. It doesn't need "trophy towers" to make a statement. The modern designs contrast sharply with the surrounding city thus enhancing the impact.
Cardpooch
Chicago (Etats-Unis), December 20th, 2003


The skyline is small for such a big city. But I don't think Paris needs a skyline.
Aquamadoor
Los Angeles (Etats-Unis), 19 janvier 2004


Skyline is good, and clustered. But the buildings are kind of dull.
The Messiah
Pays-Bas, 10 juin 2004


There are some good scrapers amongst that cluster, and an impressive cluster it is too. I know this has been compared to Canary Wharf, and whilst CW has a long way to go before being as impressive, i can’t help thinking that CW is a lot nicer at street level. La Défense doesn’t look as nice as I'd imagined, whereas CW looks very nice at street level.
Ferge
Wigan (Royaume-Uni), 22 septembre 2004


Clearly one of the best skylines in Europe. It lacks anything really tall though - needs a few buildings over 200m. In terms of height, London and Frankfurt are better. But in terms of density and cohesiveness, La Defense wins.
Monkey
Londres (Royaume-Uni), 31 octobre 2004


Paris is a perfect city. La Defense has some boring buildings, I know, but the skyline looks great and the arch just makes it more unique.
GuilhermeC
Brésil, 31 octobre 2004


This is the first real highrise district in Europe that can compare with North American skylines. The Grande Arche is special, the density isn't bad.... but the general aesthetic is pretty bland and the pedestrian experience is very awkward. Overall, pretty good.
Sean Storm
Etats-Unis, 20 novembre 2004


Not what you might expect from Paris. A great little skyline that matches the city perfectly.
MattSal
Augusta (Etats-Unis), 18 mars 2005


As I know it just from photos, it’s a true piece of art for me, absolutely full marks: 10/10.
Dreamdealer
Poznan (Pologne), 24 juin 2005


I may not like the French, but that skyline is fantastic. It looks even better in person! The cube is amazing to see up close, you can even see it from the champs-elysées and the arc de triomphe. La Défense is up there with the New Yorks, Frankfurts, Chicagos, and Shanghais.
Columbusguy20
Columbus (Etats-Unis), 26 juin 2005


Pretty good for European cities around but... still amazingly boring. Too average, lacks a kind of special feeling.
Xantarc
Edmonton (Canada), 26 juillet 2005


It looks good in some angles but rubbish in others. It is nothing special.
London-b
Londres (Royaume-Uni), 30 juillet 2005


I like La Défense and the way it's been built around a core and nearby the city. Its setting always gives an opportunity for beautiful pictures.
Marpa
Szczecin (Pologne), 24 septembre 2005


Wow. Much better than I expected from a European city. I think I like this one better than Frankfurt's! Although it's not architecturally stunning, its layed out in such a way that makes it look almost...refreshing. Up close the buildings look fantastic too, even though they're nothing unique or special. There's just something about them...maybe it's just the fact that it's Paris.
Bob rulz
Salt Lake City (Etats-Unis), 22 octobre 2005


Oh my God! Paris has actually a far better skyline than London, I never knew that. I was very shocked to see dense skyline in Paris.
Wardrobes
Etats-Unis, 22 octobre 2005


In my opinion Paris has got one of the greatest skylines in the world, suits the city very well, i give it a 9.
SuomiPoika
Helsinki (Finlande), 6 décembre 2005


I give it 9/10. It will become a 10/10 when a supertall tower will be built somewhere in the middle. However, the distance between the towers and their number, not too many and not too few, give it a uniqueness that few cities in the world can rival. Furthermore, la Grande Arche, c'est toujours la Grande Arche...
Gm2263
Athènes (Grèce), 9 décembre 2005


I really like La Defense skyline, it looks balanced, not too big but dense, and the buildings, although some would say they look too "boxy", manage to create an overral sense of unity and harmony. From my point of view it only needs a couple of supertalls and maybe a few other 200m buildings to look perfect.
Karltj
Tijuana (Mexique), 2 janvier 2006


It's such a nice skyline. I mean, Paris could even do without it and still be Paris, but it's just such an unexpected bonus really. Who knew Paris had a skyline?
Oaronuviss
Windsor (Canada), 13 janvier 2006


Yeah La Defense is unique for sure -- contrived of course as there are no skyscrapers in Paris proper but they wanted to do something with tall buildings so they stuck it out there. It is effective the linear orientation with the downtown, the reference to the Arc de Triomphe as well. One of my favorite skylines in all.
Blue Swede
Suède, 22 février 2006


La Défense is an extremely disapointing skyline for one of the largest and most sophisticated cities in the world.
Itsowiak
San Juan (Porto Rico), 22 mars2006


I like this skyline, some people can say that it looks too boxy, but i think it gives it a certain "fullness" that you can get with high density and big buildings.
Sharpie20
San Diego (Etats-Unis), 17 avril 2006


It's a lot better than London England's that's for sure. Paris, although a European city, actually has a powerful skyline. I can't say London does.
Oaronuviss
Windsor (Canada), April 26th, 2006


I was surprised of the skyline Paris had. It’s impressive for a city you wouldn’t associate with a great skyline.
BeachRes44
Etats-Unis, 16 juillet 2006


Because the largest landmark in Paris, the Eiffel tower, is too small to really stand out, there is nothing in the skyline that really catches your eye.
Marblewonder
Toronto (Canada), 13 août 2006


I really can not say that this looks better than skyline pictures of the City of London. Paris is still a great city I guess, but La Défense looks a little bit like alexanderplatz in East Berlin: like a modern socialistic prestige area, not really lovely. Good that they did not build it in the middle of Paris.  From the distance the La Defense area looks better than it actually is.
Olli Ruhr
Essen (Allemagne), 16 août 2006


I never knew it was so big.
Dallas Star
Chicago (Etats-Unis), 15 octobre 2006


Paris really looks incredible with La Défense looming in the background. You’ve got the Arc de Triomphe, the new square Arch, historic architecture all adding to the skyline.
Rizzato
Boston (Etats-Unis), 11 janvier 2007


It’s such an incredible part of Paris. It is really a great skyline. It's amazing how many people don't know about La Défense.
Melbguy
Melbourne (Australie), 26 janvier 2007


La Défense with all these new towers will look very beautiful and it will certainly be with Moscow one of the two best skylines in Europe in 5 years time (not that it’s not already the case now!).
Sk
Nicosie (Chypre), 29 janvier 2007


It has several jewels of architecture... Simplement délicieux!
Yoryi
Acapulco (Mexique), 6 février 2007