Tour Initiale
Encyclopedia
Tour Initiale is an office building located in La Défense
business district just west of Paris
, France
. The 105 m (344 ft) Tour Initiale was the first office tower built in the La Défense district with its construction being completed in 1966. In 1988, the tower was given an internal renovation, and the new name of Tour Initiale.
The Tour Initiale was designed by architect
s Jean de Mailly
and Jacques Depussé and engineer
Jean Prouvé
who designed the building's glass facade. The tower uses curved glass
on the building's corners, which, at the time of construction, was generally unknown in France and the glass had to be imported from the United States
.
This highrise should be completely renovated in the upcoming years in the frame of the first stage of the large-scale redevelopment of La Défense business district which is planned from 2006 to 2013.
La Défense
La Défense is a major business district of the Paris aire urbaine. With a population of 20,000, it is centered in an orbital motorway straddling the Hauts-de-Seine département municipalities of Nanterre, Courbevoie and Puteaux...
business district just west of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. The 105 m (344 ft) Tour Initiale was the first office tower built in the La Défense district with its construction being completed in 1966. In 1988, the tower was given an internal renovation, and the new name of Tour Initiale.
The Tour Initiale was designed by architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
s Jean de Mailly
Jean de Mailly
Jean Pierier of Mailly, called Jean de Mailly, was a Dominican chronicler working in Metz in the mid-13th century. In his Latin chronicle of the Diocese of Metz, Chronica universalis Mettensis, the fable of Pope Joan first appears in written form....
and Jacques Depussé and engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
Jean Prouvé
Jean Prouvé
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who designed the building's glass facade. The tower uses curved glass
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
on the building's corners, which, at the time of construction, was generally unknown in France and the glass had to be imported from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
This highrise should be completely renovated in the upcoming years in the frame of the first stage of the large-scale redevelopment of La Défense business district which is planned from 2006 to 2013.