Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Montparnasse tower was born out of a project to refurbish the area around the old Montparnasse station, which was deemed obsolete in 1934. After decades of debate and opposition, the Mixed Economy Corporation for the Development of the Maine-Montparnasse sector (SEMMAM) was founded in 1956 to transform this unhealthy sector. Studies began in 1958, but the expected height caused controversy, slowing down the project despite the support of André Malraux, then Minister of Culture. The reconstruction of the Montparnasse station in the south and the destruction of the Maine station, integrated into the real estate project, finally obtained the building permit in 1968.

The construction of the tower, entrusted to the architects Jean Saubot, Eugène Beaudouin, Urbain Cassan and Louis de Hoÿm de Marien, sétal from 1969 to 1973. Its foundations, consisting of 56 reinforced concrete pillars descending to 70 meters, are a technical challenge due to the unstable ground and the presence of a subway line below. Inaugurated in 1973, it became France's tallest skyscraper (209 metres) and a symbol of Paris' policies of tertiarization, marking the industrial decline in favour of the offices. Its austere architecture and its disproportionate height compared to the Parisian landscape, however, triggered a wave of criticism, pushing the municipality to limit constructions to seven floors in 1975.

As soon as it was built, the Montparnasse tower was criticized for its visual impact, to the point of fuelling recurring debates about its destruction, supported by political figures such as Bertrand Delanoë or Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet. In 2005, the discovery of asbestos in several floors revived controversy, with thresholds exceeded by 2014, despite expensive asbestos removal work (250 million euros). In 2016, an international competition was launched to modernize the tower, with a winning project providing a bioclimatic facade, vegetated spaces and an 18-metre greenhouse, raising its height to 220 metres. The work, originally planned for 2023, is postponed to 2026.

The tower was also the scene of significant events, such as technical incidents (fall of windows in 2004 and 2010, power cut in 2010) or symbolic actions, such as its extinction in 2017 in tribute to the victims of the Manchester bombing. It was used as a set for fiction (films, series, novels) and as a target for urban climbers such as Alain Robert, who climbed four times between 1995 and 2015. Despite the controversy, it remains an emblematic place, welcoming offices, a panoramic observatory on the 56th floor, and cultural events such as the Paris show.

On the architectural level, the tower is distinguished by its almond-shaped base and 59 floors, totaling 100,000 m2 of offices and 30,000 m2 of shops. Its 7,200 windows and dark facade, often criticized, must be transformed as part of the renovation project. The terrace, originally designed as a heliportage station, is now a secure platform offering 360° views of Paris, although its access is restricted after several suicides. The tower, ranked 25th highest in Europe in 2016, embodies both the modern audacity of the Thirty Glorious and the tensions between historical heritage and contemporary urbanism.

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