Landscape Architect Articles

French President Eyes "World’s Biggest Sculpture Garden"10-31-07 | News

French President Eyes "World’s Biggest Sculpture Garden"

?_le Seguin lies in the Seine River about three miles downstream from the Eiffel Tower.

Napoleon lives on in history books, but the Arc de Triomphe that he commissioned in 1806 after his troop's victory at Austerlitz continues to inspire.

I.M. Pei's pyramid of glass and steel built in the courtyard of the Louvre in 1985 is in start contrast to the old museum edifices and certainly the most significant cultural legacy left by French President Francois Mitterand.
And what will Frances new president, Nicolas Sarkozy, leave behind to wow future generations? The French press reports that M. Sarkozy indeed has grand desires on the French landscape. To that end, he has invited some of the world’s top designers and architects to advise him on creating his own grand cultural gesture.

The ??lys??e, the palace residence for French presidents, has not been forthcoming about Sarkozy's plans, but it's reported he's leaning toward creating the world’s biggest sculpture garden on ?_le Seguin. The island, once home to a large Renault factory, got a new modern bridge in June. Previous efforts to house a modern art center here have failed to materialize.