In the 1930s André Basdevant designed towers on the Eiffel Tower, airports above the Seine and a tunnel under the sleeve: visionary ideas left on paper
The city of the future: a visionary dream. Like that of “Metropolis”the masterpiece of cinema that Fritz Lang he made in 1927. Nine years after the release of the masterpiece of German expressionism, The French engineer and inventor Andrè Basdevant presented a series of projects for one Future Paris. Eclectic man, as well as architect, Basdevant (born in 1908) He was also a jurist, son of an emeritus professor of law.
The three futuristic visions of Basdevant
Three were the “Visions of the future” that Basdevant presented between 1936 and 1938.
The first, better known, concerned the realization of Two large spiral towers for access by car to the second level of the Eiffel Tour: one for the climb and one for the descent, which reached the height of 115 meters. The two structures were interconnected from one plan in rapid reinforced concrete which allowed the transit and parking of the cars.
The second project, equally crazy, should have been carried out between the two sides of the Seinein the heart of the “Villas Lumière». It was A landing track for planesa raised airport straight from a large circular structure on pillars that would have allowed the rotation of the anviosuperficie thanks to a gigantic system of tracks and gears.
The third project concerned instead the sleeve: a tunnel with Two overlapping railway lines And Four cars for cars. The idea, that anticipated what has been made half a century laterinitially met the favors of the French Ministry of Transport. However, it outbreak of the war It interrupted the path of the futuristic project of the eclectic inventor of the Alps.
André Basdevant It is also known for having been a reference of the International Scoutingactivities that allowed him to Save numerous Jewish scouts from deportation During the years of Vichy regime.
