The Grande Arche de la Fraternité is a monument[?] in the business district of La Défense to the west of Paris. It is usually known as simply La Grande Arche.
It is the work of Danish architect Johann Otto von Spreckelsen[?], designed to be a 20th century version of the Arc de Triomphe: a monument to humanity and humanitarian[?] ideals rather than militaristic victories.
Inaugurated in 1990, it completes the line of monuments that forms the Axe historique running though Paris.
The two sides of the Arche house government offices. The roof section is a museum. The vertical structure visible in the photograph is the lift scaffolding. Panoramic lifts rise up from the ground, giving an astonishing view over Paris.