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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Perret Tower, designed by architect Auguste Perret in 1942, is part of the reconstruction project of the Alphonse-Fiquet Square and the Amiens station, destroyed during the Second World War. The works, which began in 1949 with foundations at 19 metres, were financed by the Ministry of Reconstruction. Inaugurated in 1952, it became the first French skyscraper (104 m), but remained empty until 1959, with its high rents and modernist style repelling the Amienois.

Purchased by architect François Spoerry in 1959, the tower was transformed into a condominium and inaugurated in 1960. Its facades were classified as a historical monument in 1975, then as an architectural complex of the Place Alphonse-Fiquet in 2003. In 2005, a bright cube was added to its summit, raising its height to 110 m, despite debates about its architectural integration.

Symbol of reconstruction, the tower combines residential and monumental functions, evoking the belfries of the North. Its reinforced concrete frame, innovative for the time, made it a technical feat. Today, it dominates the Amienese landscape alongside the cathedral, although its access to the public is restricted.

The tower was originally planned as a mixed building (offices, housing), but its high cost (225 million francs) and technical problems (lack of running water on the upper floors) delayed its occupation. After the death of Perret in 1954, demolition projects were planned before his rescue by Spoerry.

The interior design, completed in the 1960s, allowed its gradual occupation. Tourist visits were organised until 1974. The tower remains a major testimony of modernist architecture and post-war urban planning, integrated into an extensive restructuring programme launched in 1999.

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