Quel Nouvel!
Life is good these days for Jean Nouvel. In March, he was awarded the 2008 Pritzker prize, architecture’s most prestigious; his firm is currently involved in projects around the world, from Abu Dhabi to Manhattan by way of numerous European cities; and now he has beaten out such formidable competitors as the American Daniel Libeskind and the British Norman Foster to design a high-rise project that has been described as “the most important architectural event since the Eiffel Tower.”
The Signal Tower, as the building is known, is at the center of a program designed to inject some new vitality into the rather sterile La Défense, the business district situated on the western boundary of Paris. Nouvel sees his building as “the first expression of a new center for the development of a Greater Paris…without replacing the historic center.”
The 71-storey building consists of four superimposed cubes, with enormous atriums forming windows facing in alternating directions. It will contain offices, apartments, hotel rooms and retail space. The building is projected to be 301 meters in height, the tallest skyscraper in France. The Eiffel Tower is 324 meters high, including its antenna. Cost of the project is estimated at €600 million, with completion scheduled for the end of 2013.
Rigorous statutes prohibit any new building exceeding 37.5 meters within the limits of Paris. Bernard Délanoë, the mayor of Paris, worried that Paris will lose prestigious tenants (and the tax revenue they provide), has recently proposed building industrial parks around the city to stimulate disadvantaged areas of the capital.
This victory is particularly sweet for Nouvel, who attempted to build a tower at La Défense in 1989. The project failed. He now describes himself as “overjoyed.”
I have just been looking at the site for the project. The decision of the jury must have been difficult, because the contenders are spectacular. If you’re interested in taking a look, click here.
Photo Credits: Jean Nouvel, Le Point; Tour Signal, Le Figaro.
Jan del Monte, blogging from the rue due Cherche-Midi, Paris, France
© 2008 Jan del Monte
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Now, I saw this on Paris TV and I started to get a little worried – you know that saying “give them an inch and they will take a yard”? Well – I hope those tall buildings don’t start to creep into the centre if you know what I mean Jan? Mmmmmm.
I certainly hope not, too, ladyjicky. I think that, as things stand, they would have to change some legislation before they can do it in Paris proper. Most Parisians are too attached to their patrimoine to let that happen.
I think having the commercial center at La Défense makes sense.