Part two
ANOTHER French landmark that played a role in this year’s Summer Games is the Versailles Palace grounds, which hosted the equestrian and modern pentathlon competitions. Versailles is the architectural representation of the French absolute monarchy, serving as the official residence of King Louis XIV. It was constructed in the second half of the 1600s following the design of its architect Louis Levau, interior designer Charles Le Brun, and landscape architect Andre Le Nôtre. This stately palace, composed mainly of reception spaces and salons, including the posh and highly intricate Hall of Mirrors, overlooks a vast garden of pathways, canals and fountains — a true characteristic of Baroque palaces poised between city and nature.
The Grand Palais, built in the 1900s, mirrors the Industrial Age through its glass roof framed with iron, providing a “battleground” to the world-class fencers. Tennis and boxing were held in the famous Roland Garros stadium, home to the French Open Tennis Grand Slam events for many years. The iconic Eiffel Tower served as a background for beach volleyball games. Paris would not be Paris without its famous tower.
People can learn about the proper use of public open spaces and existing buildings from the Parisian hosting of the Olympics. These open spaces actually provided a great foreground to many of the city’s architectural landmarks, allowing better appreciation by locals and visitors. Public open spaces are the ‘lungs” of a city. They are also welcome spaces for public convergence as well as a locus to reconnect with nature in an urban environment.
Public open spaces
I understand that many of our government leaders, businessmen and developers have this “horror vacuii” (fear of vacant spaces) to the point that they always have to be building something on an empty lot for profit or income. But what makes beautiful cities like Paris appealing to many is not just the cluster of new and modern buildings, but also these welcoming and relaxing public open spaces.
The construction of big architectural projects has always been connected to their significant impact on the environment due to building activities like the extraction of different materials and the mode of transporting them to sites. These usually involve more use of fossil fuels and increasing the pollution of already polluted cities. The use and repurposing of existing venues reduces the negative impact and can actually be considered a sustainable practice. This reminds us that “build, build, build” is not always the best thing to do.
This approach can be compared to adaptive reuse, which means making use of old historical buildings to make them socially significant, instead of just demolishing them. Our cities and towns here in the Philippines have many heritage buildings that we can be proud of. Unfortunately, many of them have been victims of neglect, demolition, and mismanagement in the hands of entities that lack (or have no) expertise in heritage conservation. Paris just taught us to treasure and make the most of what we already have.
Part 1 was published on May 5.
Cebuano architect Karl Aries Emerson F. Cabilao is a full-time permanent faculty member of the University of San Carlos’ Department of Architecture. A holder of a Master’s Degree in Architecture, major in Urban Design, he writes for a local newspaper about topics related to his profession. He served as the United Architects of the Philippines (UAP) in various capacities, including as two-term president of the UAP Sugbu Chapter. He is among the youngest members to have been elevated to the UAP College of Fellows in April 2017.
