France. Paris. La Defense, a major business district for the city of Paris, bordering Neuilly-sur-Seine. La Grande Arche an international design competition was launched at the initiative of French president Francois Mitterrand. Danish architect Johann Otto von Spreckelsen designed the winning entry to be a 20th century version of the Arc de Triomphe: a monument to humanity and humanitarian ideals rather than military victories. The construction of the monument, which was undertaken, began in 1982. After Spreckelsen's death in 1987, his associate, French architect Paul Andreu, completed the work in 1989/90.
2008