Sketch by David Holm

Architect David Holm launched a book of sketches, 'Drawing Paris', in Sydney this week and expressed his vision for the harbour city to draw inspiration from the French capital.

The director at Cox Richardson pitched the idea that the planning initiatives that created the city of Paris could also help influence the shaping of Sydney’s proposal to pedestrianise George Street, transforming it into a boulevard reminiscent of that in St Germaine.

The Danish architect Jan Gehl has proposed that George Street become pedestrianised as part of the City of Sydney’s vision for the CBD by the year 2030.

Holm has also embraced the pedestrian challenge and he proposes the inclusion of light rail, the colonnading of George Street to increase street level vibrancy, the provision of major public places at Town Hall and Railway Square and the designing of major public buildings to mark and celebrate Circular Quay and Railway Square

His idea for the development of George Street would be to eliminate traffic and instead place a light rail running from one end to the other making it a thoroughfare with objects of interest at either end.

“The open space is more important than the building itself,” Holm said in reference to Montmartre.

He added that Circular Quay has potential to use the water space and transform part of it into a square embodying the aspects of Piazza San Marco in Venice.

Sydney, Holms explained, can learn a lot from the design of Paris, which was built with a grand vision that started when the Romans settled the city as Lutetia and continued through to the Renaissance into contemporary Paris with Mitterand’s Pompidou in the 80’s to Sarkozy’s ‘New Vision’.

According to Holm, the history of Parisian architecture is the history of Europe. From the medieval origins of the settlement through to Mitterand’s 1990’s Grand Projects, Hausmann's visionary boulevards and IM Pei's controversial Louvre Pyramid, Paris remains an architect's dream.

In his book, he explains the history of Paris through her architecture as he takes the reader on a grand tour along the 20 arrondissement. With his trademark exquisite drawings, economical text and superb supporting photography, Drawing Paris distils the history and beauty of the City of Light into one unique guidebook.

According to Holm there are five key urban elements that make up Paris of which Sydney could incorporate. Boulevards, enclosed places, open places, blended places and objects.

“Sydney needs a new era,” Holm announced at the launch.