André Basdevant was a French engineer who proposed three extremely bold but also very controversial concepts. Two of them, although they were in keeping with the fashionable ideas of the time, proved to be completely impractical and impossible to implement. The third, on the other hand, was much more down-to-earth, although still too innovative for the time.
André Basdevant and his spiralramps on the Eiffel Tower
In 1936, Basdevant presented a design to allow cars to enter the restaurant on the second level of the Eiffel Tower. The plan was to erect two spiral ramps made of concrete on either side of the structure. Each was to consist of 10 tight coils, which would have meant a dizzying ride of 115 metres above street level. Upon reaching the top, drivers would be able to dine in a restaurant. Paris, of course, would not be without wine, which, combined with the subsequent descent downhill, could lead to another ‘twisted’ experience. The project was deemed ludicrous and was ultimately never realised.
Rotating landing over the Seine
Basdevant’s second idea from 1938 was even more spectacular. It envisaged the construction of a rotating airstrip for aircraft in the very centre of Paris, right over the Seine and the Île de la Cité with Notre-Dame Cathedral. The airstrip was to be based on two huge circular platforms supported by tall skyscraper-like towers. In one visualisation, the author set up a viewpoint inside the biplane, from which the runway can be seen through the crossed support cables. This idea was also deemed completely impractical and rejected.
Channel Tunnel
Basdevant’s third concept, also from 1938, had much more potential. In it, the engineer proposed the construction of a tunnel under the English Channel. The design consisted of a lower level for trains with two tracks and an upper level for cars with four lanes. The very idea of a tunnel under the Channel had been circulating for at least two centuries, but technical and political issues blocked its realisation. Nevertheless, Basdevant’s proposal was so well received that it was supported by the French Chamber of Commerce. Construction plans were interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War, although the Allied Supreme War Council briefly considered the possibility of starting work soon.
André Basdevant and further plans for the tunnel
After the war, André Basdevant presented his project to a Franco-British commission, but it was rejected by the British due to technical problems related to geology and ventilation. In 1958, in collaboration with other engineers, the visionary presented a modified version of the tunnel, but this plan also failed to materialise. Finally, the crossing under the canal was not built until many years later according to an alternative design by the TransManche Link consortium. Its opening, exclusively for rail traffic, took place in 1994.
The French engineer’s crazy ideas
André Basdevant has gone down in history as an engineer with an extraordinary imagination and the courage to formulate bold, if preposterous, visions. His designs, ill-suited to the technical and urban realities of the age, nevertheless testify to his ambition to transform urban space in spectacular and innovative ways. Although none of his ideas lived to see realisation, the memory of them has not died – and that is also an achievement.
Source: worldenoughblog.com, vintagenewsdaily.com
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The spiral ramps on the Eiffel Tower and the building today. Photo: culture.gouv.fr and Google Earth
The rotating airstrip on the Seine and the centre of Paris today. Photo: francearchives.gouv.fr and Google Earth
