New policy paves way for first Paris inner city tower since 1977:
“The Triangle is conceived as a piece of the city that could be pivoted and positioned vertically. It is carved by a network of vertical and horizontal traffic flows of variable capacities and speeds. Like the boulevards, streets and more intimate passages of a city, these traffic flows carve the construction into islets of varying shapes and sizes.
“This evocation of the urban fabric of Paris, at once classic and coherent in its entirety and varied and intriguing in its details, is encountered in the façade of the Triangle. Like that of a classical building, this one features two levels of interpretation: an easily recognisable overall form and a fine, crystalline silhouette of its façade which allows it to be perceived variously.”
I wonder if Paris has learned at all from La Défense. The renderings are quite sufficiently compelling, but God is in the details. Lukily, this project has a few things going for it:
- Herzog & de Meuron designed the building and they will go down in history as the preeminent designers of the 21st Century.
- While the beauty of Paris undeniably is generated by the boulevard’s and height restrictions, this allows the designer freedom to deviate from the norm. And in the right hands, the solution can be powerful
- The tower is situated far away from the “Centre” and will create an axis with the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe
Prediction: Parisians will hate it for the first twenty years then adore it.
For reference, below is the location map of the proposed tower.
