The Social Dimension of Architecture: The Example of the Cathedral of Notre Dame and the Grande Arche de la Fraternité in Paris
https://doi.org/10.48269/2451-0858-pis-2025-1-007
Abstract
The Cathedral of Notre Dame and the Grande Arche de la Fraternité are iconic buildings of Paris, constituting its architectural, urban and cultural identity. The social dimension of the buildings goes beyond the specific functions assigned to them, the material forms existing in the landscape and the impact they have on the immediate surroundings and spatial structure of the city.
The article confirms the thesis that both the medieval Roman Catholic temple, and the seat of the administration of the modern secular state, despite significant differences in the level of symbolic meanings and the time of their construction, demonstrate the ability to integrate the community of residents around the symbolic buildings. They can also coexist without conflict and complement each other as important elements of a vital, heterogeneous urban public space, to the use of which the entire community of citizens has a democratic right and access. The research uses the historical-interpretative method supported by the conceptual apparatus of the critical urban theory drawing inspiration from the writings of Henri Lefebvre on the right to the city and the production of space.
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Vol. 25 No. 1 (2025)
Published: 2025-06-23
10.31749/2451-0858-SaS

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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