Tower that looks like ‘giant piece of brie’ cheeses off Parisians
OUTRAGED Parisians have launched a last-ditch attempt to halt the construction of a €700 million (£597million) skyscraper that has been likened to a “giant piece of brie”.
Architectural purists say the “Triangle Tour” – set to be started this year and opened in 2026, within the Périphérique, or boundary of central Paris – will destroy the city’s skyline, as well as damage its environment and economy.
Plans for the tower, which has been compared to the Shard in London, were approved more than a decade ago but have been repeatedly delayed amid complaints from architectural associations, activists, and some officials.
The 42-storey building, designed by Swiss architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, and backed by Unibail Rodamco, Europe’s largest property group, is planned to include office spaces, a four-star hotel, a cultural centre and health facility.
“It’s like a big piece of brie in the sky that can be seen from everywhere... and that’s a problem,” said Didier Rykner, an art historian and founder of the magazine Tribune de l’art.
“I prefer the real cheese.”
The French news magazine Télérama similarly panned the project as “an outdated ecologically absurd project being built out of place”.
This month, a court overturned previous rulings which had blocked developers from getting planning permission, paving the way for building worrk to start before the end of the year.
But opponents are still gearing up for two final efforts to keep construction grounded.
The first comes from Philippe Goujon, the conservative mayor of the 15th arrondissement, where construction is set to take place.
Mr Goujon said he planned to formally ask for the “dated” project’s postponement at a Paris City Council meeting set to take place this week
The second hope to put an end to the tower comes from a preliminary investigation by prosecutors into suspicions of “favouritism” by the Paris Mayor’s Office towards Viparis, the company that manages the site at the Porte de Versailles, where construction is set to take place.
“Mathematically, there is a majority against this project,” Emile Meunier, a member of France’s Green Party and chair of the urban planning and housing commission said. “It would be a shame if we can’t find them.”
The tower has created an unusual divide within the political Left, with members of the Green Party firmly against a project backed by Anne Hidalgo, the Socialist Paris mayor.
The project’s backers assert it will “be an asset for the economic development and influence of the capital”, by generating “more than 5,000 jobs during its construction”. Critics, however, say the reverse is true.
“This project has been a scandal from the beginning,” said Christine Nedelec, the president of the campaign group SOS Paris, adding it stands to create “an economical and ecological disaster.”
According to the group, the city already hosts 1.5 million square metres of empty office space. The association also estimates that it would take “three to four times more concrete and steel” to build the tower compared to a conventional Parisian building.
The irregular shape of the tower means it would also require higher energy consumption.
“It’s like a boiler that needs to be on full blast at all times,” said Ms Nedelec.
The triangular high-rise is set to be the city’s largest skyscraper since the Montparnasse tower was built in 1973.
Parisians have a history of being wary of skyscrapers.
A recent survey found that 62 per cent of Parisians are generally opposed to skyscrapers.
Many of them say they disrupt the city’s classical Haussmannian architecture developed in the 19th century.