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Two months since we last checked in at the site of Tour Alto in Paris' La Défense, and vertical progress has been swift, the tower now standing nearly a dozen storeys above grade. Designed by IF Architectes for the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and La Défense Public Development Agency (Epadesa), the 38-storey, 150-metre office tower will soon join the cluster of modernist office towers that define the region.
Viewed above, Tour Alto's extra-height ground floor will eventually become home to a mix of retail tenants, the 2,000 square-metre outdoor forecourt to serve as a sizable piece of public realm enhancement.
Included as part of Epadesa's stated goal of increasing the local pedestrian environment, the addition of some much-needed public space will serve the development and notoriously difficult to navigate neighbourhood well, upon its completion in 2020.
As illustrated further in the above image, the car-centric district outside of Paris today exists in stark contrast to the almost overwhelming flow of foot traffic that can be found almost anywhere within the city centre. Bit by bit, developments such as Tour Alto and the nearby Trinity, will soon bring a much friendlier pedestrian character to La Défense.
SkyriseCities will be sure to return to this project as progress continues. For more information, check out the associated Database file and Forum thread, and as always, feel free to join the conversation in the comments section below.
