New skyscraper for Paris
Herzog & de Meuron has won planning permission for its 180m high Tour Triangle, which is set to feature a 120-room hotel. Backed by property giant Unibail-Rodamco, the skyscraper will also contain a co-working office space and cultural facilities.
The project is located at the heart of the Parc des Expositions site, setback from the surrounding residential areas, in the Porte de Versailles neighbourhood. The development has been met with criticism from locals despite Herzog & de Meuron’s insistence that they have taken into account the impact of a high building on its environment. The triangular design aims to reduce casting shadows over adjacent buildings and the environmental approach of the project is also perceptible in its simple, compact volume, which limits its ground impact.
The base of the project is open to all, from the square of the Porte de Versailles and along the avenue Ernest Renan, and assumes the appearance of a Parisian street with shops and restaurants.
The hotel will also feature a funicular on its north-east axis, which faces the centre of Paris. The cable railway will link public spaces at street level to a panoramic restaurant and further up to a belvedere from which the entire city can be viewed.
Having previously been rejected by the Parisian council last November, the second vote resulted in a narrow majority of 87 votes in favour and 74 against the building.
Mayor of Paris and supporter of the project, Anne Hidalgo tweeted after the vote how “proud and happy” she is “that Triangle can be born in Paris”. She went on to add that the development would create 5,000 jobs during its construction and a further 5,000 once built.
Tour Triangle will become the city’s third tallest building after the 324m Eiffel Tower and the 209m Montparnasse Tower, which was the last building over 100m to be built in France.
Herzog & de Meuron first unveiled plans for the tower block in 2008. Since then, Parisian planning law has changed to permit construction of residential towers measuring up to 50m and office blocks up to 180m.
Before that, the height of all new buildings was limited to 37m as a response to the controversy triggered by the construction of Tour Montparnasse in 1973.
