Parisians split over proposed addition to skyline
WHEN Gustave Eiffel built his tower in 1889, much of the Paris elite expressed horror at what it called an eyesore.
There will be a similar row today when councillors vote on a plan to authorise only the city’s third skyscraper after the Eiffel Tower and a second built in Montparnasse in 1972.
Proponents, led by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, say the ‘‘erotic’’ Triangle Tower would symbolise the city’s willingness to enter the 21st century, attract investors and give Paris a new icon.
However, it faces strong opposition from ecologists and conservatives, who say skyscrapers have no place amid the architectural harmony of Paris.
Critics say the Montparnasse tower, which is widely seen as a blot on the district, proves their point. No sooner had it been built than Paris introduced a bylaw banning the construction of buildings higher than 37 metres. The only exception to that rule is La Defense, a business district.
Hidalgo is seeking an exemption for the 180m Triangle, which would be 30m shorter than the Montparnasse Tower and 130m shorter than the Eiffel Tower.
The 550 million (NZ$867m) project will include offices, a conference centre, cafes, restaurants and shops. It has been designed by Jacques Herzog and Thierry de Meuron, the Swiss architects responsible for the Tate Modern art gallery in London.
Herzog said the tower was a work of artistic beauty ‘‘which is attractive, which has an almost erotic side’’.
Jean-Louis Missika, who chairs the planning committee on the Paris council, said abandoning the project would be ‘‘a catastrophe for economic activity in Paris’’.
‘‘It would be a very bad signal to the outside world at a time when France already has a reputation as a country which is having trouble entering the modern era.’’