«Paris’ skyline will never be the same again! A new tower, as audacious as the Eiffel tower, will be built in Paris-La Défense, the first European Business District.
Initiated by Nicolas Sarkozy, the Signal Tower will symbolize the renewal of Paris’ business district. The project will be achieved by 2015. This new tower, added to the several other projects in progress, will give a new shape to the area. Patrick Devedjian, president of EPAD (the company that manages the business district), has unveiled the winning project the 27th of May: “The jury, which I was honored of chairing, has decided to retain Jean Nouvel’s project”
300 meters (990 ft) high, the Signal tower will be composed of 50 000 m2 (164 000 sq ft) of offices, 33 000 m2 (108 000 sq ft) of housing, a hotel of 39 000 m2 (128 000 sq ft), 10 000 m2 (33 000 sq ft) of retail stores and restaurantsand 8000 m2 (26 000 sq ft) of public facilities. Recognized as one of the most innovative architects on the international scale, Jean Nouvel won the Pritzker prize in 2008. His unique approach has been revealed through projects such as the Agbar Tower in Barcelona, the Quai Branly Museum in Paris, and recently, a 75 story building next to the MOMA in New York.
The project is supported by two investors. Medea, a French subsidiary of the Cresa group, which is also the main shareholder in METRAVESCA and SACRESA, two leading property companies in Spain. Layetana, a Spanish property developer. The Signal Tower will be a turning point in French architecture: it will be the first to adopt a diversity of use.
An exhibition will be shown by the end of the year, and a book will be published by the beginning of 2009» (CS della Società).
|