Le projet d’inventaire architectural et urbain de Paris : genèse et perspectives

Abstract

The “Projet d’inventaire Architectural et Urbain de Paris” : Its Genesis and Prospects. This article presents the Projet d’Inventaire Architectural et Urbain de Paris, a project for the inventory of the city’s architectural and urban heritage created in 2004 and financed by the City of Paris. The first stage in a long-term plan to identify and promote the city’s heritage, this project is limited to a specific timeframe. Its scope is circumscribed to a single geographic area and strictly defined by the institution which it serves. These conditions raise their own set of operational and scientific questions, which a team of specialists has set about to answer by establishing specific methodological rules. The approach selected is based on a global view of the territory, going from the general to the particular. Several issues have been raised by the project, contributing to the expansion of knowledge in the field of architecture and urbanism. These questions deal for instance with the notion of « ordinary architecture », the relation between « open spaces » and built spaces, attempts at defining an urban and architectural typology, etc. A data processing system, comprising a geographical information system (SIG), is being implemented, which will enable a sharper analysis of the spaces considered as well as information on an interactive mode.