PARIS SKYSCRAPER SETS NEW LIMITS

The triangular tower is slightly pyramidal in shape, tapering toward the top on all sides but most dramatically along two of its facades. An affair of steel and glass, it is starkly modern with respect to its neighboring buildings. Its shape is in part a reaction against the rectangle towers of downtown, which sparked the initial moratorium on creating such tall buildings.

Despite being located at 1 Place de la Porte de Versailles, right on the edge of the central ring road surrounding the innermost part of the city, critics are concerned about the building overshadowing the surrounding urban landscape. The measure to approve its construction barely passed, after initially failing to garner sufficient votes last year.

Advocates are quick to point out that the building will create thousands of jobs both as it is constructed and once it is completed, as well as creating much-needed residential and office space in the city, including a 120-room hotel, co-working office space and cultural facilities.

For decades, the city limited new structures to around 100 feet, curbing development inside the city limits and forcing developers into suburban spaces. The popularity of this new tower may well be the determining factor in future downtown developments, either heralding the rise of additional towers or perhaps causing further decades of deferred construction, depending on public reactions.

"The change in regulations is a historic moment," claim the architects. "Paris is cautiously allowing tall buildings back into the city."