Paris unveils plans for first skyscraper in 30 years

  Plans for the first skyscraper to be built in the centre of Paris for 30 years were unveiled today. The 50-storey tower is already popularly known as the “Delanoe tower” after Paris’ socialist mayor Bertrand Delanoe, who has championed the construction of towers in the city’s central districts.                                       The tower has been designed by Swiss architect Herzog & de Meuron, best known for their work on the Tate Modern and the Beijing Olympics’ “Bird’s Nest” stadium. The privately-financed building is expected to contain offices and a luxury hotel with panoramic views across the city. Scheduled for completion by 2012, it will overlook Paris from the south west at the porte de Versailles, already the location for a large exhibition centre. It is the first of six planned “gratte-ciels” (high-rise) projects. They are all in designated zones on the edge of the city and some will include subsidised housing. . In July, the mayor won backing from the city council to make exceptions to a 30-year-old ban on high-rise buildings, which are currently limited to 37m.   EGi News 25/09/08