Parc André Citroën

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Coordinates: 48°50′28″N 2°16′29″E / 48.84111°N 2.27472°E / 48.84111; 2.27472

Greenhouse in Parc André Citroën

Parc André Citroën is a 14 hectares (35 acres) public park located on the left bank[1] of the river Seine in the XVe arrondissement (district) of Paris. The park was built on the site of a former Citroën automobile manufacturing plant,[2] and is named after company founder André Citroën.

History

In 1915, Citroën built his factory on the banks of the Seine; it operated there until closure in the 1970s. At that time, 24 hectares (59 acres) were thus freed up and included in the capital's "urbanization" policy and gave rise to the Parc André Citroën. It was created at the beginning of the 1990s and was officially opened in 1992. Responsible for its design are the French landscape designers Gilles Clément and Alain Provost, and the architects Patrick Berger, Jean-François Jodry and Jean-Paul Viguier.

Design

Inside one of the two greenhouses
Fountains and Eutelsat balloon

The park is built around a central, rectangular lawn of roughly 273 by 85 meters of size. It is embellished with two greenhouse pavilions (hosting exotic plants and Mediterranean vegetation) at the Eastern, urban end, which are separated by a paved area featuring dancing fountains. The South edge of the lawn is bounded by a monumental canal — the "Jardin des Métamorphoses" — composed of an elevated reflecting pool that reaches through granite guard houses, lined by a suspended walkway. On the North side are two sets of small gardens: the six "Serial Gardens", each with a distinct landscape and architectural design, and a "Garden in Movement" that presents wild grasses selected to respond at different rates to wind velocity. A 630-meter diagonal path cuts through the park, which constantly changes in its nature.

Since 1999, the park has been home to a moored gas balloon. It allows visitors to rise above the Parisian skyline, and is currently operated by the Banque Populaire. The balloon is filled with 6000 cubic meters of helium. It is 32 meters high and has a diameter of 22 meters. It is moored to the ground with a hydroelectrically-activated cable. It can rise to an altitude of 150 meters[3] and has a carrying capacity of 30 adults, or 60 children.[4] The balloon provides a view of the Champ de Mars, the River Seine, Basilica of the Sacré Cœur and the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral.

The six serial gardens are each associated with a metal, a planet, a day of the week, a state of the water, and a sense:[5]

  • The blue garden: copper, Venus, Friday, rain, and the sense of smell,
  • The green garden: tin, Jupiter, Thursday, spring water, and the sense of hearing.
  • The orange garden: mercury (the metal), Mercury (the planet), Wednesday, creeks, and the sense of touch.
  • The red garden: iron, Mars, Tuesday, waterfalls, and the sense of taste.
  • The silver garden: silver, the Moon, Monday, rivers, and sight.
  • The golden garden: gold, the Sun, Sunday, evaporation, and the 6th sense.

The white garden and black garden (of 1 and 2 hectares respectively) are detached from the main 11-hectare section of the park.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Paris Opens Park On Citroen Site". The New York Times. 1993-01-31. Retrieved 2008-05-03. 
  2. ↑ Pringle-Harris, Ann (1997-11-02). "The 15th, a World of Its Own". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-05-03. 
  3. ↑ Riding, Alan (1999-09-12). "EUROPE: FALL/WINTER - THE NEW AND THE RENEWED - PARIS". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-05-03. 
  4. ↑ "Ballon Air de Paris - Pour la premère fois, la qualité de l'air est visible" (in French). Ballon Air de Paris. Retrieved 2008-05-03. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Parc André Citroën" (in French). Mairie de Paris. Retrieved 16 July 2012. 

External links

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