Parisian Pyramides

Parisians really seem to like pyramid shaped buildings. After the Eiffel Tower and the Pyramides du Louvre there will be a third major building with a pointed roof.

Since 1977, when the unloved Tour Montparnasse was completed, no architect in the French capital has been allowed to construct any building within the Boulevard Périphérique which is higher than the fixed 37 metres eaves height. The 210-metre high Tour Montparnasse is, after the Eiffel Tower, the highest building in the city and has been nicknamed «the gloomy monster». Apart from these Paris is for the most part free from high-rise buildings - the La Défense business quarter with its numerous skyscrapers is located outside the city boundaries.

Since the re-election of the socialist mayor of Paris Bertrand Delanoë, who has already presented eleven skyscraper designs for the city on the Seine, these days now seem to be consigned to the past. However, the mayor's plans are in part faced with resistance from the Greens, who fear that traffic will be brought to a standstill. On the other hand they are supported by President Sarkozy, who is concerned that 'grand Paris' should demonstrate that it is a major force on the world stage and at the same time wishes to leave an architectural legacy in the form of tower blocks which will be attractive to companies.

Le Projet Triangle by Herzog & de Meuron will now become the first high-rise building in Paris since the Tour Montparnasse, which means that it has to meet correspondingly high expectations. The design is a 50-storey, glassed-in pyramid with a triangular base. The 180-metre hotel and office complex is to be constructed in the 15th. arrondissement in the south west of the city, and will provide office space for a total of around 5000 people. In addition there will be shops on the ground floor, a hotel and a panorama restaurant.

Situated at the entrance of the trade fair site at the Porte de Versailles, the building is to create urban planning coherence and of course serve as the emblem of the Paris trade fair. The Swiss star architects want the high-rise building to integrate itself into the fabric of the city and restore the historic axis between the rue de Vaigirard and avenue Ernest Renan. The architects are said to have chosen the pyramid shape because it has a less massive effect and casts a smaller shadow. They have designed the building, which is to be opened in the year 2012, on behalf of the Unibail corporation.