La Villette. City of science and industry

1986/06/01 Barrenetxea, Tere - Elhuyar Fundazioa Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Museoak

The City of Science and Industry is part of a larger project called La Villete, next to the City of Music, theater, a music rehearsal room, houses for researchers, park, etc. The total area of La Villete will be 35 hectares, of which 13 will be used by the City of Science and Industry. The budget for the latter has been allocated 50,000 million pesetas and an annual maintenance expenditure of 11 billion pesetas is expected. This figure is considered to be one of the largest in history in such projects in France.

Among the buildings that are already underway, the most spectacular is the Géode. It is a 36 m diameter sphere used as cinema, mirror polished steel cover. It has in its interior 370 seats and a semicircular cinema screen of 1000 m 2. This space presents all the advances in the field of image and sound: laser, hologram projection, 180° projections, etc. Through these techniques the viewer can feel trapped in the seabed, climbing or descending a waterfall or mountain wall over deltas or fast clouds.

The Permanent Exhibition will be the other main building of the City of Industry and Science. It will consist of four sections: I. From Earth to the Universe. This is what has just been inaugurated. II. The adventure of life. III. Matter and human work and IV. Language and communication. In the section From Earth to the Universe you can see Nautile, life-size model of modern French diving, cabin without gravity and the capsule of an Ariadne launcher, among others. In addition, there will be the Txoko of Mathematics, the geological minimuseum and robots prepared to answer the questions of visitors and 6000 chips.

In the section “Adventure of life” games to analyze genetics, farming techniques of the year 2000, films on ecology, etc. will be placed long at the disposal of the visitor. III. The section Matter and Human Work will be the last to be launched, but also the one that will offer the most spectacular innovations. It aims to present the handling of a warship and simulation of airbus flight and robotics and the use of energy. In Language and Communication, visitors' movements can become music, analyze and decompose voices. In a special room they will prepare odour identification games.

A Medidteka will also be built with printed, audiovisual and computer documentation, equipped with the most advanced means to comfortably carry out the search, consultation and remote sending of documents. By 1989 it is expected to gather 300,000 books and subscriptions to 5,000 newspapers around the world. Librarians will also be robots.

It is also intended to organize ephemeral exhibitions to delve into cutting-edge topics or some specific field of science. And of course, the platerium, the appropriate spaces for children to perform experiments and games, conference rooms and conferences, etc.

If you are thinking about taking a tour of Paris, you can visit it. In Paris, northeast, you can go by metro or bus from the city center, arriving at Porte de Pantin or Porte de la Villet.

What is underway

The GMO: Semicircular showroom. ARLETTY cinema: scientific and technical cinema. The Great Halle: First old slaughterhouse restored and remodeled. Prepared for great shows and celebrations.LE ZÉNITH: Concert hall. Theatre room.Part of the permanent exhibition: From Earth to the Universe around the subject.