PARIS | Tour Phare | 971 FT / 296 M | 71 FLOORS

[Michael12374]

Really! If you are going to build a skyscraper almost as tall as the Eiffel tower, cant it be good looking? This should not be the new tallest building, way too ugly

[mousquet]

We know not everyone likes it. Follow the Hermitage thread if you don't like this ballsy design. Again, the Hermitage towers will be slightly taller than this.
As far as I'm concerned, this is now my favorite project in Paris. You'll be stunned at materials to that thing.

[mousquet]

This is more or less being officially canceled according to the latest news. Unibail would be planning to replace it by something 100m shorter... It will take years of additional legal procedures to get all necessary approvals for any prospective substitute, even when it would be much shorter.

I'm sorry at those who wanted it built, pretty disappointed, myself. That's just what happens in an over-regulated society run by the mediocre French politicians and technocrats. Guess it was just too big for us.

[mousquet]

Unibail unveiled their alternative project to make us swallow our frustration, I assume.


http://immobilier.lefigaro.fr/articl...-e8fec3c982cf/

Les "Tours Sisters." Ouais, bof... Really, then why not downright the nun towers?

This is what the article says in a few points.
The new project...

• Is mixed-use... Wow, such a smart idea! not too soon though. Made of a 200m office tower and a 100m business-class (4-star) hotel. That's still roughly 300m, but in 2 buildings instead of a single. And still nothing residential. Hm.
• Is cheaper. It accounts for a €630 million investment, instead of €900+ million for the defunct project of the Phare tower.
• Is designed by Christian de Portzamparc.
• Is supposed to be completed by 2021. See you in 2031 then.

Also, Thom Mayne will be paid 60% of what he would've earned if Phare had actually been built. Needless to say, beyond any financial aspect, this story must be quite a disappointment to the man and the architect.

[mousquet]

More renderings found by some SSC guys.





As one of them noticed, Portzamparc is insiting on a design from his firm that was driven away from the 13th arrondissement.



My thought, precisely. That was a proposal for a lot of the Masséna-Bruneseau area that was eventually granted to Jean Nouvel. It included some luxury residential units at the upper floors of the towers, then some didn't appreciate.

You'd better have won a Pritzker Prize to be allowed to build a skyscraper over here by the way. It's quite a bit silly to not give any chance to younsters in this establishment town.