Title : The Great Arch - Laurence Cossé - book

Summary :

There is an almost universal legend throughout the world that a monument cannot be built unless a human being is sacrificed. Otherwise, the building collapses, and collapses every time anyone tries to rebuild it. To ward off this curse, someone living must be walled up in the foundations. There are more than seven hundred versions of this story. That of the Grande Arche de la Défense is the most recent. This tale depicts the epic story of the construction of one of Paris's most famous monuments, which, little known, was the subject of bitter political struggles during the reign of François Mitterrand. Above all, it is the portrait and story of its creator, Johan Otto von Spreckelsen, a highly secretive Danish architect and professor at the School of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. Winner of a prestigious international competition in 1983, celebrated for his project upon his arrival in Paris, this man from the North discovers with amazement the French nonchalance and reversals. The affair ends tragically for him, while this marble portico is being built, which seems serenity itself. In this powerful novel, Laurence Cossé combines the art of romantic narration and the precision of a long investigation to evoke one of the most beautiful and paradoxical, absolute and violent architects of the 20th century.

• EAN: 9782070142040
• Used book
• Book in good condition
• The book matches the photo