It has been two years since we last featured the Jean Nouvel-designed Tour Hekla by Hines and AG Real Estate, which is currently on the rise in the vicinity of Paris' La Défense. Consisting of two towers, at 22 and 49 storeys apiece, the project appears to be going up in stages, with the smaller phase one now reaching completion ahead of the rise of the taller phase two.

Tour Hekla Phase One, image by Forum contributor Vincent !

The 22-storey phase one will soon become a 10,000 square-metre student residence, thereby bringing a solid base of young talent to the area. Faced primarily in glass, the residence tower will eventually be joined by its much more detail-oriented sibling, the 49-storey, 818,057 square-foot office tower to adopt a crystalline exterior composed of sharp lines and multiple angles. 

Tour Hekla Phase One, alternate angle, image by Forum contributor Vincent !

For now, however, onlookers must be satisfied with the latest images from the site, which reveal the first tower sitting more or less solitary within the large build site. The project will encompass a large public realm element, including four separate terrace levels, a 250-seat auditorium, a conference room, four restaurants, and a vegetated walkway created from a disused overpass. 

Tour Hekla, aerial view of build site, image via Tour Hekla webcam

Part of the ongoing effort to humanize La Défense and its surrounding neighbourhoods, the public realm improvements here will likely be joined by more and more of the same in the near future. 

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.