La+Defense

La Defense is a major business district in the Paris Metropolitan Area, located just west of the city of Paris. La Defense was named after the iconic statue  La Défense de Paris by Louis-Ernest Barrias, which was founded in 1883 to commemorate the soldiers who defended Paris in the Franco-Prussian War. In September of 1958, The Public Establishment for Installation of La Défense Buildings were built to slowly replace the factories, shanties, and a few farms. The buildings of La Defense are still growing, where more offices and residential homes are to be built.

Today, La Defense is home to many of Paris’ tallest skyscrapers, the tallest being the Tour First which is a staggering 758 feet tall. Many of the buildings seen in the La Defense are offices, with a few residential apartments and homes in the area. In December of 2005, Bernard Bled, CEO and chairman of EPAD, La Defense Management & Development Office, announced the nine year development plan for La Defense. The idea was approved in 2006, with four main plans to regenerate outdated skyscrapers, build new buildings, improve the balance between offices and residential housing, and make the commute of employees from their homes to La Défense easier. As of today, the amount of employees is much higher than the residents. The Bernard Bled wanted to change that statistic. Today, about ten plans for new residential and office buildings have been proposed as changes to La Defence. Of these buildings, the Hermitage Plaza I and II plan is to begin construction in 2016, and both buildings will stand roughly 1,060 feet.