Paris Journal 2011 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com
Photos
and thoughts about Paris
Sign
my guestbook. View
my guestbook. 2010 Paris Journal ← Previous Next
→ ← Go
back to the beginning
|
As we walked by the large construction site at Boucicaut, we noticed a new window through the construction fence and a new plaque describing the meticulous demolition of the old smokestack from the old hospital. Sure enough, there is a square platform built around the smokestack, and two men were working on it – by hand. The platform moves hydraulically up and down the smokestack as needed. All of the work at Boucicaut is being done carefully because, for one thing, it is in the middle of the most densely populated part of the 15th arrondissement. For another, the entire project is supposed to be eco-friendly. On the web site for www.boucicaut.fr, I was pleased to see that the project involves plenty of social housing (subsidized housing) and services for various types of people. The commercial aspect of it that is yet to come will encourage new, innovative, eco-friendly high-tech businesses to locate there. Some private housing will also be built in the center, facing a public green space. The apartments will start at 900 square meters. Because the surrounding neighborhood is so densely populated, the Boucicaut site will not be so densely populated, according to the plan. The two corner buildings of the project on the rue de la Convention that we had admired – one with an Office Depot on the first level, and the other with a mattress/bed store – have social housing on the upper floors. I never would have guessed that to look at them. These are not the massive housing projects that have been so hugely unsuccessful in the outskirts of Paris. Boucicaut is of a different order altogether – less intensive, and much more varied in uses. The entire project will be complete in 2015, although it seems that for the most part, it will be done in 2014. I like what I see so far, and I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of it evolve. I think Marguerite Guérin Boucicaut would approve. She’s the lady who gave the money for the construction of the original hospital, which was considered to be innovative at the time (late 19th century). It incorporated Louis Pasteur’s ideas for isolating the patient wards in different buildings, to avoid the rapid spread of infections. The original hospital also made innovative use of natural ventilation by high vaulted ceilings, a complete sewer system, central steam heating, and modern plumbing. Madame Boucicaut particularly wanted a hospital to be constructed on the left bank. The original hospital of 207 beds included some beds reserved for employees of Bon Marché, the department store started by Aristide Boucicaut, Marguerite’s husband. Initially, the hospital was dedicated to the treatment of tuberculosis, but it grew and diversified over the years. By 1960, it had 571 beds. Then it began to shrink, until it had 316 beds in 1998, and closed as a hospital in 2000. Its services transferred to the huge, modern, and troubled Georges Pompidou European Hospital. At the back of the Boucicaut hospital, above the biology laboratory, was the Laboratoire d’Eutonologie auto-financé of the neurobiologist Henri Laborit, from 1958 to 1995. Actually, Laborit was not only a doctor – he was a philosopher and writer as well. Laborit invented the word “eutonologie” (eutonology) to describe neatly his work in studying stress, or the body’s response to stress. A “eutonologue” is a specialist in this kind of human behavior. Laborit (b. in Hanoi, Vietnam, 1914, d. in Paris, 1995) is known for introducing the use of neuroleptics (anti-psychotics) in 1951. These are, of course, medications used to treat conditions such as schizophrenia. He started out as a neurosurgeon in the Marines, where he used dopamine antagonists to reduce shock in injured soldiers. The first neuroleptic was chlorpromazine, used in the 1950s. Laborit discovered this when he was working in anesthesiology. Working with Pierre Huguenard, a “cocktail” of three substances with narcotic effects was made and used to induce a state of “artificial hibernation” in patients. Laborit and Huguenard used this as an anesthetic that allowed the patient to remain conscious. The drug put the patient in a state of indifference about his/her environment. One patient described it as follows: “I sensed the cutting of the knife and the scissors, but it was as if it were happening to someone else; it made me indifferent.” To help the public better understand evolutionary psychology, Henri Laborit helped with the making of a movie called “Mon oncle d’Amérique,” by Alain Resnais. A famous saying of Laborit’s is used in the Italian film, “Mediterraneo.” It is “In times like these, escape is the only way to stay alive and keep dreaming.” I bet Laborit is someone my new nephew-in-law, Jesse Gray, knows about. I’ll have to ask him sometime. Right now, he’s busy setting up a new neurobiology lab at Harvard Medical School’s Department of Genetics. Whew. Enough of that psycho-neuro-stress stuff. Let’s move on. After walking by and inspecting the Boucicaut site, we went on to the avenue Félix Faure, and took it to its end at Balard. Turning to walk back in the direction of our neighborhood, we found ourselves, naturally, in front of Axuria, one of our favorite restaurants, right at 7:30PM – the perfect dinner time for us. I was thrilled to see that Chef Olivier Amestoy was present. We had the pleasant combination of the server who wants you to have a good time and Chef Olivier in the house. This was going to be good, we just knew it. (Both of these guys are featured in the cool video on the restaurant’s web site.) And so I ordered the bass filet (bar a la plancha), and it was outstandingly good. So delicious, fresh, and perfectly pan-seared. The vegetables were very fine, too, as usual, and Tom’s faux filet of beef was tasty. Dessert was the super-magnificent soufflé au Grand Marnier for Tom, and the more modest but still very rich fondant au chocolat for me. On the way home, we noticed far more people than usual at the Bistro du Quinzième, confirming my belief that mostly locals eat there, and they’d been gone on vacation until this week. They’re BAACCKK! Sign
my guestbook. View
my guestbook. |
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Colorful,
informative plaques describe various aspects of the Boucicaut redevelopment
project.
The bass
filet, or bar a la plancha, at
Restaurant Axuria. Below, the faux filet of beef.
Once again, Axuria’s magnificent soufflé au Grand
Marnier. And below, the rich little fondant au chocolat, with a scoop of
mocha ice cream garnished by a little praline.
An
interesting clock in a glass case on the exterior wall of the Lycée Professionnel Gustave Eiffel. A “lycée”
is a high school. |
