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Paris Lifts 30-Year Ban on High Rises

Posted Sep 27, 08 1:09 PM CDT in World,  Arts & Living 

(Newser) – Ambitious new towers will soon be thrusting into the Paris sky now that the city has decided to drop a ban on tall buildings, the Times of London reports. The Eiffel Tower is likely to remain the city's tallest, but by 2012 it will share the skyline with a 590-foot glass pyramid said to resemble a giant blade or a witch's hat—the first of six innovative towers to be built on the city's outskirts.

Architect Jacques Herzog admits it will be tricky to fit the tower into "the most perfect city in the world, urbanistically speaking.” Almost two-thirds of Parisians remain opposed to the construction of new tall buildings, but officials feel Paris needs them to compete with the likes of London, Berlin, and Barcelona. Some fear the creation of another Montparnasse Tower—a skyscraper considered so ugly that its construction led to the 30-year-long ban on highrises.
Source: Times (UK)

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Swiss architect Jacques Herzog speaks on September 25, 2008 in Paris, during a press conference presenting the project of a high rise building at Porte de Versailles.   (Getty Images)
In this undated computer-generated image released Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008 by Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron, their "Project Triangle" is seen.   (AP Photo/Herzog and de Meuron, HO)
In this undated computer-generated image released Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008 by Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron, their "Project Triangle" is seen.   (AP Photo/Herzog and de Meuron, HO)
The Montparnasse tower was deemed so ugly by Parisians that a 30-year-ban on tall buildings followed its construction.   ((c) Dan Kamminga)
This computer generated photo provided by the Paris city hall Tuesday July 8, 2008 shows a possible Paris perimeter project for a tall building.   (AP Photo/Paris townhall)
This computer generated photo provided by the Paris city hall Tuesday July 8, 2008 shows a possible Paris perimeter project for a tall building.   (AP Photo/Paris townhall)
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