The new building will reach a height of 300 m, which is 24 m lower than the famous building of the engineer Eiffel, but significantly higher than the tallest building in Paris at the moment - the Montparnasse tower (180 m). The competition was organized by the construction company Unibail, the largest owner of real estate in La Defense, which is now building a huge Coeur Defense office complex there, which will become the largest in Europe. Such "stars" of world architecture as Jean Nouvel and Norman Foster also presented their versions of the skyscraper to the jury.
Such a large-scale project, which will change the face of the city in the future, has provoked protests from the Paris authorities, but it is supported by the public organization EPAD (Public Organization for the Improvement of the District of La Defense), which has been leading the development of this business center of Paris since its foundation in the 1950s.
The idea of building a skyscraper "Far" ("Lighthouse") is connected with the general plan for the reconstruction and renovation of the entire La Defense, adopted in July 2006 and envisaging the construction there by 2013, 450,000 square meters. m of office space.
The tower, designed by Tom Mayne and his Morphosis bureau, will be an example of green building. Its double cladding of steel and glass will allow natural ventilation of the building, and a whole grove of wind turbines on the roof will generate most of the electricity there for the needs of the skyscraper. A building of streamlined curvilinear forms, growing from a block-shaped base, will be erected between the Big Arch (1982-1990) and CNIT (Center for New Industrial Production and Technology, 1956-1958). The internal layout of office spaces, which will occupy most of the building, will be as free as possible, it will be possible to change it depending on the needs of tenants. The upper tiers will be occupied by a restaurant and an observation deck. Construction is expected to be completed by 2012.
