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Reaching for the sky
Posted Mon, 02 Jun 2008
French officials on Tuesday said that a new tower to be built on the western edges of Paris would soar 301 metres into the sky. This will make it the city's highest man-made structure after the Eiffel Tower, which is 324 metres high.
French star architect Jean Nouvel was also chosen on Tuesday over four world-class peers to build the landmark skyscraper.
Set for completion by 2014, the concrete, glass and steel tower will spearhead an ambitious plan to rejuvenate La Defense, the 50-year-old business hub on the city's western rim.
Winner of this year's Pritzker Architecture Prize, the industry's top award, Nouvel faced a stiff challenge from the likes of Britain's Norman Foster and the American Daniel Libeskind, chosen to rebuild the site of the September 11 attacks. The 62-year-old architect said he was "overjoyed" by the jury's decision.
Record-breaking structures:
- Highest manmade structure
anywhere:
The Burj Dubai tower in the United Arab Emirates, currently under construction and which has now reached a height of almost 650 metres. Although its final height is being kept secret, Burj Dubai is expected to culminate at well over 800 metres. - Highest wire-stayed radio antenna:
The KVLY-TV mast in the US state of North Dakota: 628 metres. - Highest free-standing structure:
Previously the CN telecom tower in Toronto, Canada: 553 metres. The CN tower lost its place as the world's highest free-standing structure last September, when Burj Dubai overtook it. - Highest office building currently in use: Taipei 101 tower in Taiwan: 509 metres.
AFP
