- The Champs-Elysées Committee, aware of the disillusionment of Parisians towards the famous avenue, entrusted the mission to the architect Philippe Chiambaretta and his agency to think about solutions to improve all of this.
- Fruit of a long collective work, the project aiming to transform the Champs by 2030 is presented from this Friday at the Pavillon de l'Arsenal in Paris.
- At the same time, a citizen consultation is launched to allow Ile-de-France residents to express themselves on the subject.
And if Gims was the last Parisian to walk on the Champs-Elysées. Indeed, according to an analysis conducted in 2019 on the frequentation of the avenue, it appears that only 5% of the 100,000 daily visitors are Parisians, 68% being tourists, mostly from abroad. Strong, but also worried, of this observation, the economic and cultural actors of the sector grouped in the Champs-Elysées committee, in the summer of 2018, instructed the architect Philippe Chiambaretta and his PCA-Stream agency to think about a pimpage in rule of "the most beautiful avenue in the world".
A year and a half of gestation and a budget of one million euros were necessary to deliver a "2030 vision" aimed at "re-enchanting the Champs-Elysées". A vision that will be revealed to the general public during an exhibition which opens this Friday at the Pavillon de l'Arsenal in Paris. This exhibition offers a historical perspective of the Champs-Elysées which helps to better understand the current issues of this avenue, "original metaphor of Western modernity", according to the formula of Philippe Chiambaretta.
Both "hyper-place" and "hyper-empty"
Through a didactic journey based on photos, videos and infographics, she highlights the paradox of the Fields. Designed as a walking space for Parisians, in particular through the first developments of Le Notre, they now constitute the main intramural highway. Adored abroad, the avenue is deserted by Parisians. Very busy, the upper part of the Champs-Elysées, a "hyper-place" according to the formula of the geographer Michel Lussault, opposes the lower part of the gardens, a "hyper empty" almost deserted.
It is to respond to this paradox and "find remedies for this condition of a sick city" that Philippe Chiambaretta has surrounded himself with "fifty experts, companies, in a very transdisciplinary approach that goes from scientists to artists, designers, to have a very broad point of view ”. The project presented, each parameter of which is encrypted with incredible precision (there is big data!), Aims to make "the city sustainable, inclusive and desirable" according to the architect.
A voice for Parisians
"There is an ecological awareness, analyzes Philippe Chiambaretta. Sometimes panic, which can lead to untimely decisions when on the contrary, it is urgent to think carefully. It is the first time that a study of this scope has been carried out in the field. There is an evolution in the way of producing the city of tomorrow. The result is breathtaking, in particular thanks to very high-quality visual projections.
Concretely, the project, which claims to have zero carbon architecture, proposes to drastically reduce the place of the private car (-52% of space) via the pedestrianization of the Concorde, reducing the number of traffic lanes on the Champs-Elysées and Place de l'Etoile. A major effort to revegetate is also put on the table with, for example, the planting of 1,132 trees and the tripling of green spaces, notably through the renovation of the gardens.
At the end of the exhibition, a space is reserved for visitors to express themselves on the project. “The idea is […] to invite Parisians to express their views, not only to judge what they like, what they don't like, details Philippe Chiambaretta, but also to be able to come up with recommendations and proposals. This participative space is also coupled with a virtual consultation via the Make.org platform. "The next step is to get Parisians to join the project through the exhibition and citizen consultation," hopes Jean-Noël Reinhardt, president of the Champs-Elysées Committee. And I promise you that if there are 100,000 Parisians who know it in detail, because they will have gone to the exhibition, because they will have participated in the consultation, when we go to see the new municipality in early May, to tell him "This is the project, you know it, but it is supported by 100,000 Parisians", our arguments will have more weight. Because in the end, this vision is only a project estimated at 150 million euros and it cannot be implemented without the or the future mayor of Paris.
20 Minutes is a partner of the “Réenchanter les Champs-Elysées” consultation, initiated by the Champs-Elysées Committee and the PCA-Stream agency on the Make.org platform. If you wish to participate, you can propose your ideas and vote on that of the other participants in the module below
municipal
Municipal in 2020 in Paris: The candidates reveal their vision for the Champs-Elysées
Champs-Elysées: History and perspectives , from February 14 to May 10, at the Pavillon de l'Arsenal 21, boulevard Morland, 75 004 Paris, free entry
- Paris
- town planning
- Champs Elysees
- Consultation