(Indochina ex-service personnel)
This square once had a different name: it was called Place de l'Homme. It is the work of Michèle Goalard, sculptress in Jean Balladur's original team, who worked with the architect for almost 30 years. Late in 1973, Balladur asked her to create the sculptures and ground-work for this large oval square... Inspired by Balladur's symbolism, Michèle Goalard created a highly unique paving work that depicts two intertwined silhouettes: one black, one white.
It's a philosophical metaphor that represent the dialogue between differences; the dialogue between white and black is a symbol of duality, an expression vision of the complementarity between man and woman, between Levant and Couchant (meaning sunrise and sunset)...
On either side of the square stand two blue-gray basalt concrete sculptures. These are shower fountains that have been in use for a long time, for the people coming back from the beach to rinse off...
Sculptures accessible to locals and holidaymakers alike: that's the whole point of what's known as integrated sculpture:Works of art that blend seamlessly into the urban landscape. For Jean Balladur, this was a matter of great importance:
"Sculptures that have a use... There's not a single work here created solely to be put on a pedestal,there's no personal artwork on show that doesn't contribute to the bigger picture of the city. Each member of my team was creating a piece specifically for this place, that would in turn lend meaning to the place".
It was in this spirit that Michèle Goalard created the Place du Cosmos, located a little way further.
"This Place du Cosmos, it's funny because Jean had said to me, "you know, maybe a more tractable mayor... and since this road comes in completely straight... maybe such a mayor might decide to make it a car avenue, and then cars will come pouring in from here, there and everwhere." So he said, "make me something that can't be moved." So I said, if you like I'll make a cosmic garden... I put the Earth right in the middle... So you might ask, why did I make these stands? Because I started from the premise that first of all, you had to go through this ball, but then mankind arrives on the Earth and creates straight lines; and that's why I made this staircase, quite simply. I'd made a little sundial and then, as soon as the ball was finished, I saw groups of kids coming to see what it was, and they used my sundial as a slide... I said, well, that's the story of life... A slide it was, and a slide it remained."
Artworks transformed into children's playgrounds, on a square that gives you a breathing space between buildings, with easy, smooth circulation between the campsite district and the beach...
Two buildings, like outspread wings, surround the Place des Anciens d'Indochine or, as it was once called, Place de l'Homme. They were designed by Jean Balladur himself. For their façades, he wanted to pay homage to the sculptures of the Island of Delos in Greece, where lions with wide-open mouths welcome visitors. Except that here, architectural elements are never just beautiful... they're also useful. these open mouths give each balcony privacy, hiding it from the neighbours' balconies!