At the heart of the Palais de la Porte Dorée, the function room – now known as the Forum – is impressive for its size, its unique architecture and the richness of its décor. Built for the 1931 International Colonial Exhibition, it bears witness to the architectural ambition of the Palais and the context of colonial propaganda that underpinned its creation.
The fresco decorating the edges of the Forum, located in the heart of the Palais de la Porte Dorée and classified as a historic monument since 1987, was the work of Pierre Henri Étienne Ducos de la Haille (1889-1972), winner of the Prix de Rome for painting in 1922 and a professor at the École des Beaux-Arts until 1949, who was among the painters who took part in the revival of the fresco technique in the early 20 th century. The orders given to the architect of the Palais, Albert Laprade, were to portray the “contribution made by France to Overseas” on the walls of the function room, a place where galas and official events were held during the 1931 Colonial Exposition, with a décor stretching over more than 600 m², created by the painter, his seven assistants, whose names can be read to the left of the entrance, along with his students. We know that the architect of the Palais, Albert Laprade, chose Ducos de la Haille for the Palais décor design partly because the painter had stayed in Algeria during his military service, from 1912 to 1914. As can be seen in the archives, Laprade had many discussions with the painter on the iconographic programme (the blindfold over the eyes of Justice, the skyscraper over the legs of America, the excessive number of sailing ships…) and the relations between the two men suffered as a result, although Ducos did take into account certain remarks by the architect, particularly regarding the central painting.
Coral reefs are constructed through the gradual stacking up of the skeletons of “hard” coral, meaning that they produce a calcareous skeleton. The tropical reefs extend into three main areas located between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer: the Indo-Pacific region, stretching from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean; the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Persian Gulf region; the Caribbean region. Each of these three regions is home to its own coral and fish species.
Rivers include what are referred to as slow-moving waters, where the flow is calm, not very fast and generally tends to slow down even more on approaching the mouths of rivers. This distinction from streams and torrents is arbitrary but allows waterways to be classified into two families, characterised by very different hydrologic and biological conditions.
Torrents and streams encompass what are referred to as fast-moving waters. Water flow is turbulent, fast and generally tends to slow down when descending in altitude towards hilly areas lower down. This distinction from rivers is arbitrary but enables waterways to be classified into two families, presenting very different hydrologic and biological conditions.
At the Tropical Aquarium, several large East African lakes are depicted, including the biggest ones, like Victoria, Tanganyika or Malawi. These lakes are real inland seas. They are freshwater lakes, fairly calm, hot and tend to be alkaline, in other words they have a PH over 7. These lakes don’t all flow into the same ocean. While Victoria joins the Nile then the Mediterranean, Tanganyika flows towards the Congo then the Atlantic Ocean. Malawi flows into the Zambezi, then the Indian Ocean.
The mangrove is a forest between sea and land, in the intertidal zone, which is subject to variations in the level, salinity and temperature of the water. Most trees in the mangrove belong to the mangrove family, with different species spanning the area from sea to land. Rooted in the low-oxygen mud, their aerial roots allow them to breathe. Their seeds germinate before separating from the tree and planting themselves by falling in the mud.
A swamp is land that is regularly covered with water. Alternating dry and wet periods cause a big variation in humidity. Likewise, the temperature changes considerably according to season and water supply. When it is present, the water doesn’t circulate much, or not at all. The water’s lack of movement causes a low level of oxygenation, along with deposits of suspended particles brought by high water or floods. So the bottom of swamps is very muddy and the water very murky.