Tour Montparnasse
(Montparnasse Tower) is an office skyscraper located
in Paris, France, in the area of Montparnasse. Constructed
from 1969 to 1972, it is the tallest skyscraper in
France.
Built on top of the Paris Metro station "Montparnasse-Bienvenüe",
the 58 floors
of the tower are mainly occupied by offices, while
two floors are open to the public for viewing the
city; the 56th floor with a restaurant, and the
terrace on the top floor. On a clear day, the view
covers a radius of 40 kilometers; aeroplanes can
be seen taking off from Orly Airport. The guard-rail
can be removed in only 120 seconds to allow helicopters
to land.
At the time
of construction, it was the highest building in Europe.
The construction of La Grande Arche at La Défense
places the tower in a second line of perspective across
Paris: see Axe historique.
Its simple architecture, gigantic proportions and
monolithic appearance have been often criticised
for being out of place in Paris urban landscape
and, as a result, two years after its completion
the construction of skyscrapers in the city centre
was banned. It is often said, only half-jokingly,
that the best thing about working in the tower is
that it's the only place in Paris from which the
tower cannot be seen on the skyline. The design
of the tower predates architectural trends that
placed high importance on a view of the outside,
and so only offices around the perimeter of each
floor have windows
(more modern skyscrapers are often designed to provide
a window for every office, if possible).
In 1995, French urban climber, Alain "Spiderman"
Robert, using only his bare hands and feet and with
no safety devices of any kind, scaled the building's
exterior glass and steel wall
all the way to the top.
In 2005, studies
showed that the tower contained a lot of asbestos
material. Asbestos when inhaled, for instance during
repairs, is a known carcinogen. As with the Jussieu
Campus, the problem of removing the asbestos material
from a large building used by thousands of people
is acute. Projected completion times for removal are:
3 years if the building is emptied for the duration
of the work, and 10 years if the building is not emptied.
