La Défense has celebrated its 50 years old

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© Jean Nouvel

30000 peoples were all together on September 9th to celebrate La Défense’s 50th anniversary. Music, laser effects, fireworks, have set ablaze the Grande Arche during 30 minutes.

Today, La Défense is just what those who initially conceived it wanted it to become: a business quarter, the prime business quarter in Europe and one of the most attractive in the world.

This economic grandeur is not only the fruit of legislation governing the market and the interest shared by investors. It is the result of a political will backed by the State and relayed by the instrument which it established as far back as 1958: the EPAD, the Public Body for the development of La Défense. Showcase for half a century of architecture, intersection point for all the public transport networks on the near edge of Paris, life-size laboratory for technological innovation applied to the workplace environment, this crucible of energies accumulates and continues to generate the trump cards of its own glowing reputation.

For more information, discover La Défense’s website:

http://www.ladefense.fr/english_english.php

Discover La Défense on Econovista, the interactive economic map of Paris Region

Hauts-de-Seine: sustainable business districts

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© Jean Nouvel

EPAD – the public body for the development of La Défense – organised the first global summit of business districts for sustainable development. The summit brought together around 100 players from the business districts of 21 cities (Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Casablanca, Le Cap, London, Liverpool, Madrid, Montreal, Moscow, Beijing, Rabat, São Paulo, Shanghai, Seville, Shenzhen, Shenyang, Singapore, Vienna, etc.) along with researchers, universities, architects, urban planning experts and company managers. At the end of the summit EPAD proposed that participants should commit to a 10-point charter entitled The La Défense declaration for sustainable business districts, which was adopted by all participants. The commitments included reducing energy consumption and increasing the use of renewable energies, effective management of the water use cycle, air quality and materials use, reducing and recycling waste and developing a plan for sustainable transport.All participants expressed their common aim of creating an international network of business districts and cities all over the world in order to promote sustainable development.

Following these commitments to the environment, energy saving, improving living conditions and mixed usage in business districts, EPAD announced that it was launching a survey to assess the energy efficiency of La Défense. The new high-rise towers to be built by 2015 will be energy-efficient and designed to create a comfortable and secure environment for their users.

Locate La Défense on Econovista, the economic interactive map of Paris region