PARIS | Tour D2 | 525 Feet | 37 Floors
 

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/images...Paris_pic1.jpg
http://www.skyscrapernews.com/news.php?ref=2647

http://www.coloco.org/fichiers/_news...e-01-copie.jpg
http://www.coloco.org/fichiers/_news...e-01-copie.jpg

http://www.linternaute.com/savoir/gr...-d2-370944.jpg
http://www.linternaute.com/savoir/gr...-d2-370944.jpg

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/4950/66617540.jpg
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/4950/66617540.jpg

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:q...llekg3.jpg&t=1
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:q...llekg3.jpg&t=1

http://www.defense-92.fr/photos/tourd2.bmp
http://www.defense-92.fr/photos/tourd2.bmp

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...s/6/67/Grf.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...s/6/67/Grf.jpg

:ancient:
Yes, but this time it's coming up! at last. So, for now they're just tearing down the low-rise that D2 will replace.
Pictures by Jex :worship: ; he took these yesterday afternoon, posted on french PSS :

http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/670...sdfense063.jpg

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/348...sdfense064.jpg
http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/6...sdfense069.jpghttp://img198.imageshack.us/img198/7...sdfense071.jpg

I'm sure Jex is fluent in english by the way; just saying...
Get your shy butt over here Jex. :whip:
:) Kidding, still he'd be welcome on SSP as well, wouldn't he?

Okay, this is the schedule according to well-informed defense-92.fr :

• Demolition of the Veritas building shown above from june to september 2011.
• Work on the foundations from october 2011 to february 2012.
• Construction of the infrastructure from february to late 2012.
• Construction of the superstructure from november 2012 to late 2013.
• Completion is expected by september 2014.

Can't wait. We saw someone saying it looked pretty similar to iconic Swiss Re nicknamed Gherkin or Cucumber in London. Kind of but then this one D2 should be a better Cucumber and I beg the Brits for not beating me here :D
Here's an additional render from above and taken from defense-92.fr, helping to figure :

http://www.defense-92.fr/photos/d2plana.jpg

We'll be following that.

Demolition's done, guess the foundation work is starting.

http://www.defense-92.fr/photos/ph30159.JPG

More pictures...

Man, La-Defense is on a tear.

London's Gherkin meets NYC's Hearst Tower

We should start a new thread in the "highrise construction" now that this thing is finally getting built!

C'est l'heure pour Paris d'avoir un autre gratte-ciel exquis! :dancing:

Thanks a lot for the support. We must admit that the forum rule is rather wise though, let's wait for some significant foundations to move it in the U/C section, it's just a matter of weeks. For now it looks like they still have a bit of rubble to clear away and they started some kind of excavation indeed.

Let me also quickly mention Air² in this thread. There's no dedicated thread on SSP but the project has been managed quietly anyway. I mean even the French forum had no news about it for long. Now we're expecting its implementation to start in the coming weeks BUT it'll take a long time before actual construction begins because first they have to demolish this:

http://www.pss-archi.eu/immeubles/FR-92026-48.html

That's 360-ft tall and closely surrounded which makes a fast demolition impossible. They talk about a "déconstruction" and say it'll take 16 months... :oldlady slow
This is it (roughly 660-ft tall) stuck to D2 (560 ft):

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...s/6/67/Grf.jpg

http://www.defense-92.fr/photos/renduaire2a.jpg

http://www.defense-92.fr/photos/air2...planadeod6.jpg

Shape seen from above:

http://www.defense-92.fr/photos/aire2plan3.jpg

Design: Arquitectonica
Investor: Carlyle Group (based in NYC, they've been working with developer Bouygues Immobilier for this project)
Use: office
Surface area: 82,000 m² (roughly 883,000 sq ft)

I was wondering what that other tower was in the D2 renders. That's some serious density going on right there.

A bunch of more machines just got on the site.

http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/8836/d25q.jpg

http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/1091/d26.jpg

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/6550/d23p.jpg

http://img864.imageshack.us/img864/1770/d22p.jpg

Thanks to morgandoug for these.

This is a picture of what was going on a week ago, they had begun some sort of foundation but it's no longer visible.

http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/5230/sdc12380u.jpg

Thanks to Maza.

4 days ago, foundation on progress...

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/8472/015we.jpg

http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/9725/011rxk.jpg

http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/8716/016fl.jpg

Jexmen's uptade on French pss-archi.eu.

The overall foundation is expected to be done in late february, then a couple of cranes will be set up on the site. So far things have been happening about as mentioned there:
It looks like this thread can be safely moved to Highrise Construction now. If you guys agree and although the French conventions would rather say 37 floors because they never take the ground floor in count, please change the title to:

PARIS - LA DEFENSE | D2 | 561 FT / 171 M | 38 floors

As far as we all forumers know, it's the most accurate.

Good news !
But I guess that it's going to be invisible from the esplanade.

^ Never mind the esplanade here. This is part of the plan to improve the north side of the ring boulevard, which is highly exciting.

A couple of days ago:
http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/1923/49543277.jpg

Closer.
http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/1745/10756998.jpg

http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/9996/93396882.jpg

http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/4113/59162488.jpg

http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/695/21995213.jpg

This will bear the workers' sheds across the boulevard.
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/4639/17387163.jpg
All pictures by morgan.

One more draft.
http://a5.mzstatic.com/us/r30/Purple...480x480-75.jpg

http://a3.mzstatic.com/us/r1000/072/...320x480-75.jpg

http://a1.mzstatic.com/us/r30/Purple...480x480-75.jpg

From the pictures it's hard to tell where the footprint of the actual tower is, but this thing looks to be very close to if not already under construction. mousquet, if you can point out where in any of the above pictures are piles for the foundation of the tower, I'll move this to the Under Construction sub forum.

^ Sorry, I'm unable to do so. We can figure what should be the foundations of the fishnet on a couple of pictures but I can't see anything related to the actual structure either. You're right, there's no hurry anyway. The next update will be the proper one.

In the first rendering at the top, the diamonds appear to be much larger than in some of the renderings further down. Is there a difference, or just perspective?

@AJphx Right, the fishnet looks a little different from a render to another. I can't tell which version is the most accurate.

@colemonkee In fact, I've been confused since they talked about diaphragm walls on the French forum. Those things are clearly foundations but I don't know what for, probably the structure itself.
Diaphragm walls are part of what this red hydrofraise has been doing for 3 months:

http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/5172/d28s.jpg

I think that's what they were doing on this picture.

http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/5230/sdc12380u.jpg

They also did some strips using the hydrofraise. In my own words, for the past 3 months they've dug holes all around that they had to plug to let their machines easily move on the site. Just to let you know about those diaphragm wall and strip things.

Now a couple of more pictures taken by Maza yesterday.

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/2720/dscf0529x.jpg

http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/1813/dscf0530d.jpg

The hydrofraise is still on the site so I'm guessing the foundations are not totally done yet.
More sheds for workers to come.

http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/3647/dscf0531bis.jpg

The hydrofraise is gone...
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7189/6...02b5297c_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7196/6...edb9874d_z.jpg

Guessing Milo's right, that thing there looks like the foot of a crane.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7061/6...166406ff_z.jpg

Although I know nothing of foundation technologies, I have a feeling that something's still missing in there. But their strips and diaphragm wall must be done.

Sample of the facade:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7179/6...0d43e9e0_z.jpg
pss-archi member JP
:irked: They're really in love with that kind of spandrel over here, that ends up being very annoying. You can see about the same on all the latest facades that somewhat disappointed me and many others around here. Hopefully that darker spandrel glass will be better than what we've seen lately.
Notice the glass frame to the left which is different, same light grey as the fishnet instead of black, must be a try. BTW doesn't that fishnet look like plastic? I expected something more metallic... Pssst :irked::irked:

A crane would be coming this week. Yesterday:
http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/2457/d23np.jpg
morgan
They're still focusing on that spot stuck to the boulevard.

La Défense seems to have no urban planning at all. Only improvised schemes on a small scale.
It's as if every new addition was hastily devised so as to compensate for the permanent shortage of modern commercial space.
The lack of grand gesture is the sign of a fragile imbalance between premature decrepitude and rejuvanation.

^ You think it's that bad? Yet EPADESA has hired some planners and as we see, the treatment of the ring boulevard is changing a lot. I have a feeling there's actually some improvement in the district planning, I would just complain about materials used for this building, Carpe Diem, and First and T1 before them. All this looks kinda tacky, old-fashioned or whatever boring to me.
Regarding the premature decrepitude, I guess it's due to much of the 60s-70s architecture that's just crap. Not only there in la Défense. Certainly not even only in the country, in many cases, it didn't age well which explains the current renovations/demolitions around there.