• Metal-textile structures

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    The 'Clouds', Grand Arch

    Paris-La Défense, France

    SEM Tête Défense

    Architect: Paul Andreu

  • The 'Clouds' under the Grand Arch provide shelter from bad weather and create an intermediate scale between the esplanade and the gigantic monument, which in fact houses offices. They are made of teflon fabric stretched on a metal frame and tensed by cables. Their complex geometry called for the design and construction of many moulded parts - ties, bracing struts, swivels, anchor plates – which transmit strains to the cables tied at ground level and to the inner faces of the cube-shaped monument. The pinnacles at the convergence points of the double-curving teflon sheets were eliminated. In their place are rings that absorb the traction strain in the fabric and appear on the under-side of the membrane in the form of round skylights. The installation of the mesh structure and its gradual tensing needed the utmost rigour and a delicate touch.