Description
Renowned in Europe as an avant-garde architect in the 1970s, the Catalan architect Ricardo Bofill was called to the French stage following the destruction of Les Halles de Baltard in 1971. Called upon to compete in 1974, the architect attempted to revive the historic forms of Parisian architecture and urban planning. Rejected in April 1978 after more than 3 years of projects and models by Jacques Chirac, the first mayor of Paris, who preferred a neutral and less monumental architecture, Bofill nevertheless played a leading role in the development of new towns in France from 1972 to 1985, with projects that were as striking as they were controversial: These included Abraxas in Marne-la-Vallée, Le Lac in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Place Majeure in Cergy-le-Haut and the Antigone district of Montpellier.
Designed as a fully illustrated diary describing the close relationship between architecture and politics under Valéry Giscard d''Estaing and François Mitterand, this book is the