More open, more mixed… and always taller: office towers continue to rise from the ground in Europe’s metropolises, even if their opponents stigmatize their unsightly and timeless appearance.
At 330 meters high, it will be the tallest skyscraper in Western Europe: construction of the Madrid Norte tower should begin in 2025 in the Spanish capital, without generating controversy. The “skyline” of the north of Madrid, already formed by five very recognizable skyscrapers, is rather a source of pride there.
Far from the debates in Paris or Berlin, where the tower projects are strongly opposed. In Paris, the September opening, without much fanfare, of the Duo towers, designed by star architect Jean Nouvel, is symbolic of a lack of appetite for skyscrapers.
Mayor Anne Hidalgo faces opposition from her environmental and right-wing allies, who view these projects as energy-intensive and unsightly, and have forced her to abandon or downsize other projects.
Showing the sensitivity of the subject, the business district of La Défense, where the Hekla tower – once again designed by Jean Nouvel – has just been inaugurated, launched at the beginning of December the “General states of transformation of the towers” to reduce their carbon impact
In Berlin, residents and political figures are criticizing a project for a 140-meter-tall office tower, which will house the German headquarters of the giant Amazon, accusing it, among other things, of promoting gentrification.
disputes
But skyscrapers, or “IGH” for “high-rise buildings” in corporate real estate jargon, continue to proliferate in Europe’s business districts.
Restaurants, sports halls and, above all, balconies, terraces and other outdoor spaces are in special demand.
green arguments
Because the towers, despite their energy-intensive nature, also have ecological arguments: they are often close to city centers and therefore well served by public transport, unlike the “campuses” in vogue in the 2000s.
At a time marked by the trauma of the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York, “there really was a tall tower panic, so we were more into increased security and not too much on the tallest tower,” recalls Ingrid Nappi. , professor at the École des Ponts.
More recently, the pandemic has raised fears about elevators. “All crises challenge the towers,” she says.
The skyscrapers also limit the artificialization of the soil, which is harmful to the city and the climate, and the most emblematic collect more or less recognized environmental quality seals: Leed, Well, Breeam, HQE…
They also want to be pioneers in the mix of uses.
Thus, the future -and disputed- Triangle Tower in the south of Paris, which includes, in addition to offices, a hotel, a nursery and shops, is conceived as “reversible”, that is, easily convertible into a home.
This is also the case with the FOUR Frankfurt project in the German metropolis, four towers of which housing, including assisted living, will also be incorporated to bring the business district to life.
Source: BFM TV
