4/06/2011

A Triangle Tower in Paris, France by Herzog & de Meuron

A new skyscraper in Paris — I do not include La Defense with its cluster of skyscrapers including the First Tower and the Phare Tower —? Yes with the Triangle Tower designed by Herzog & de Meuron. But this tower causes debates.
Triangle Tower, Paris, France, © Herzog & de Meuron. Originally appeared on The Telegraph

This Tower is made of Floors stacked vertically to lead to a total height of 146.91 meter (482 feet). Floors will have different sizes in length to shape the tower as a triangle. It will not be the tallest tower since the controversial Montparnasse Tower with its 209 meters (685.7 feet) is currently the tallest (however it will be surpassed by the Tour First, also known as CB 31, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates in collaboration with Saubot-Roult and Associates, which will be over 225 meters (738feet) high at roof high, and 240 meters (787 feet) high including its spire, if I include La Defense) — Of course not including the Eiffel Tower.
View from Issy-Les-Moulinaux © Herzog & de Meuron. Originally appeared on archdaily

It will stand on a site of the southwestern extremity of Paris, precisely in Porte de Versailles.
Building regulation, in particularly the height restriction, imposes a restriction of 25 meter tall building in Central Paris, and a height of 31 meters (101,71 feet) on the outskirts of Paris with the possibility to be over 37 meters high (121,39 feet). The map below, representing the Parisian Height restriction Plan, shows the spatial organization in terms of height restriction from 18 meters (59,06 feet) to 180 meters (590 feet).
Height Restriction Plan © Mairie de Paris
> The Height Restriction Plan shows the spatial organization of the height restriction.
The more distant from the Center, the taller the building are, that is to say
from 18 meters (59,06 feet) to 180 meters (590,55 feet)

As mentioned, only two buildings surpass the restricted 180 meters: the Eiffel Tower, with its 327 meters (1072 feet) including TV aerial (since March, 8th), and the above mentioned Montparnasse Tower. Let us put the first to one side. The second is the target of sharp debates due to its shape and its height but mainly due to its shape. For a large number of Parisians the Montparnasse Tower is a "mistake" — "erreur" — as "it attacks on the beauty of the capital", Olivier de Rohan Chabot from the Safeguard of French Art Group told to the Figaro, a French newspaper.
Parisians refuse the construction of high-rise buildings for many reasons, among others the risk of casting a shadow over locals, as Yves Contassot, a Green councillor of La Ville de Paris. Another criticism concerns the aesthetic aspect of the urban fabric. Construction along streets have to comply with a set of codes regarding outside appearance. In this context, for the"anti-high-rise buildings", high-rise buildings will destroy Parisian urban fabric (it is important to note that buildings are not treated as independent objects but as homogeneous wholes creating a unified urban landscape. Hence the rejection of towers inside the city. Consequently this explains why the Triangle Tower will sit in the southwestern part of Paris, precisely in La Porte de Versailles.
© Herzog & de Meuron. Originally appeared on archdaily

Yet, Jacques Herzog, co founder of the agency Herzog & de Meuron, made clear that while imposing, the transparent tower will not cast shadow on surrounded buildings and streets. It will also be highly ecological using the sun to produce energy in accordance with the required High Environmental Quality, or HQE in French (Haute Qualite Environnementale).

The agency announced to build not a tower but more a topography, or a "vertical city" — or "OfficeCity".  To a certain extent, one can say that with this tower, triangular in shape, Herzog & de Meuron will attempt to rethink our way of working in city with this "OfficeCity". The 40-storey Triangle Tower will be made out of steel and glass. It will combine level shopping with house offices, a conference hall, panoramic restaurant and ground-floor shops.
The construction will begin in 2012 and is expected to be completed by 2017.


Source: The Telegraph

No comments:

Pageviews last month

Powered By Blogger