Tour Montparnasse

Tour Maine-Montparnasse

Tour Montparnasse
General information
Type Commercial offices
Location 33 Avenue du Maine
15th arrondissement
Paris, France
Coordinates 48°50′32″N 2°19′19″E / 48.8421°N 2.3220°E / 48.8421; 2.3220Coordinates: 48°50′32″N 2°19′19″E / 48.8421°N 2.3220°E / 48.8421; 2.3220
Construction started 1969
Completed 1973
Height
Roof 210 m (690 ft)
Technical details
Floor count 59
Floor area 88,400 m2 (952,000 sq ft)
Design and construction
Architect Cabinet Saubot-Jullien
Eugène Élie Beaudouin
Louis-Gabriel de Hoÿm de Marien
Urbain Cassan
A. Epstein and Sons International
References
[1][2][3][4]

Tour Maine-Montparnasse (Maine-Montparnasse Tower), also commonly named Tour Montparnasse, is a 210-metre (689 ft) office skyscraper located in the Montparnasse area of Paris, France. Constructed from 1969 to 1973, it was the tallest skyscraper in France until 2011, when it was surpassed by the 231 m (758 ft) Tour First. As of February 2015, it is the 17th tallest building in the European Union. The tower was designed by architects Eugène Beaudouin, Urbain Cassan and Louis Hoym de Marien and built by Campenon Bernard.[5]

Location

The logo of Tour Montparnasse

Built on top of the Montparnasse – Bienvenüe Paris Métro station, the 59 floors of the tower are mainly occupied by offices. The 56th floor, with a restaurant called le Ciel de Paris,[6] and the terrace on the top floor, are open to the public for viewing the city. The view covers a radius of 40 km (25 mi); aircraft can be seen taking off from Orly Airport. The guard rail, to which various antennae are attached, can be pneumatically lowered.

Criticism

The tower's simple architecture, large proportions and monolithic appearance have been often criticized for being out of place in Paris's urban landscape.[7] As a result, two years after its completion the construction of buildings over seven stories high in the city center was banned.[8]

The design of the tower predates architectural trends of more modern skyscrapers today that are often designed to provide a window for every office. Only the offices around the perimeter of each floor of Tour Montparnasse have windows.

It is said that the view from the top is the most beautiful in Paris, because it is the only place from which the tower cannot be seen.[9]

A 2008 poll of editors on Virtualtourist voted the building the second-ugliest building in the world, behind Boston City Hall in the United States.[10]

Climbing the tower

In 1995, French urban climber, Alain "Spiderman" Robert, using only his bare hands and feet and with no safety devices of any kind, scaled the building's exterior glass and steel wall to the top, almost falling in the process.

Asbestos contamination

In 2005, studies showed that the tower contained asbestos material. When inhaled, for instance during repairs, asbestos is a carcinogen. As with the Jussieu Campus, the problem of removing the asbestos material from a large building used by thousands of people is acute. Projected completion times for removal are three years if the building is emptied for the duration of the work and ten years if the building is not emptied. The removal of asbestos began in July 2007.

Tenants

Previously Tour Maine-Montparnasse housed the executive management of Accor.[11]

Gallery

 
Tour Montparnasse's location in Paris 
Office Lobby of Tour Montparnasse 
Shopping Arcade of Tour Montparnasse 
Montparnasse next to Eiffel Tower 
Montparnasse seen from Eiffel Tower 
Montparnasse from Rue de Rennes 
Tower seen from Jardins du Luxembourg 
Night view towards Eiffel Tower 
Montparnasse seen from Arc de Triomphe 
View over Paris, at dusk, from the top platform of Tour Montparnasse

See also

References

  1. Tour Montparnasse at CTBUH Skyscraper Database
  2. Tour Montparnasse at Emporis
  3. Tour Montparnasse at SkyscraperPage
  4. Tour Montparnasse at Structurae
  5. "Tour Montparnasse". Vinci. 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  6. le Ciel de Paris
  7. Montparnasse Tower, a story of passion and hate since 40 years
  8. Laurenson, John (2013-06-18). "BBC News - Does Paris need new skyscrapers?". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-06-18.
  9. Nicolai Ouroussoff (26 September 2008). "Architecture, Tear Down These Walls". New York Times. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  10. Belinda Goldsmith (14 November 2008). "Travel Picks: 10 top ugly buildings and monuments". Reuters. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  11. "Address book." Accor. 17 October 2006. Retrieved on 19 March 2012. "Executive Management Tour Maine-Montparnasse 33, avenue du Maine 75755 Paris Cedex 15 France"

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tour Montparnasse.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, November 15, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.