Jardin des Plantes and the Institut du Monde Arabe

Another walk today in the 5th district, this time to the botanical gardens of the Jardin des Plantes.  In addition to plants, the garden also is home to several science museums and a small zoo/menagerie.  Today we just took a wander through the gardens.

The gardens were laid out in a style very different from the typical formal French gardens we've been seeing, and almost all of the plants were labeled.  Plants were grouped into separate areas -- alpine plants, arid climates, aquatic plants, etc.

Some very patient gardeners had managed to train the lantana shrubs into trees with thick trunks.

This frightening statue of a hunter stabbing (and simultaneously being mauled by) a bear
was done by Emmanuel Frémiet.  Hmmm...maybe I'll avoid the menagerie today.

Here are a few more images of the grounds.

The gardens lead out to the Seine, so we walked along the Quai St.-Bernard for a while.  Along the quai are a series of modern sculptures known as the Musée de la Sculpture en Plein Air.  Unfortunately many of the sculptures had been vandalized, like the one on the bottom left.

But other parts of the park were quite pretty...it's hard to "tag" a flowerbed.

We also passed the entrance lock to the Port de l'Arsenal; this separates the Seine River from the Port de l'Arsenal/Canal Saint Martin. 

Our final stop was the Institut du Monde Arabe.  It is a beautiful building constructed in the 1980's and designed by architect Jean Nouvel (who also designed the Musée du Quai Branly).

In the central courtyard was a very modern-looking mobile art pavilion designed by architect Zaha Hadid, showcasing a temporary exhibit of her work.   

Of particular interest are the light screens on the facade of the Institut's main building.  The design for these screens was based on moucharibyahs (which are wooden screens that are commonly found on building exteriors in the Arab world.)  The Institut's screens were designed to open and close via motor-control.

From inside, you can see the mechanics of the screens.

From the top floor terrace, we also had a lovely view of Notre Dame and the Île de la Cité.  The tall white statue on the Pont de la Tournelle in the foreground is of St. Geneviève by Paul Landowski.