For more than half a century, the Tour Montparnasse has been one of Paris’s most criticized landmarks. Rising 210 meters above the Left Bank, the skyscraper has dominated the capital’s skyline since its opening in 1973, drawing strong criticism. From across the city, it intrudes on views of landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and Les Invalides. Critics have dismissed it as “the wart,” “the eyesore” and “the tombstone.” Locals even joke that it is “the box the Eiffel Tower came in.”
After decades of controversy, the building is undergoing the greatest transformation in its history. Renovation work began on March 31 and is expected to stretch into the next decade. The owners and the project leaders have decided to reinvent the building. Its dark façade will be replaced by a lighter, more transparent design and the public spaces around it will be reshaped. The goal is to make it feel less imposing and integrate it naturally into the city’s urban fabric.
Unlike many global capitals, Paris has a uniform skyline, making the 210-meter tower stand out. Much of its center is defined by six-story Haussmann-era apartment buildings constructed from pale limestone and governed by strict height regulations.
In the 1950s, while London and New York were embracing postwar skyscrapers, Paris remained largely devoted to its low-rise neighborhoods. The area surrounding Montparnasse station appeared suitable for extensive renewal. In 1959, government official Edgard Pisani introduced the Maine-Montparnasse redevelopment plan.
Once completed, the backlash was swift. New height limits across much of central Paris were established in 1977 in response to the backlash. These regulations effectively prevented similar developments. Future skyscraper development was redirected to La Defense. It became the business district, leaving the Tour Montparnasse as the only skyscraper within the city center. Yet public disdain never kept visitors away. Since its inauguration in 1973, more than 30 million people have climbed to its observation deck, drawn by its panoramic views. It has hosted more than 3,200 concerts, exhibitions, fashion shows and public events. Artists including Justin Bieber, Soprano, Indochine and Feu! Chatterton have all performed there.
Demolition became a recurring demand, but another path was ultimately chosen. In 2017, Paris approved a rehabilitation designed by the French architecture collective Nouvelle AOM. This year, construction finally began. On Jan. 7, the City of Paris and the co-owners of the Maine-Montparnasse complex formally launched a broader redevelopment led by Renzo Piano Building Workshop. It extends far beyond the tower itself. The plan envisions a neighborhood centered on a public square, new shops, offices and sports facilities. The tower’s somber exterior will be replaced with glass panels. Planted terraces and sky gardens are intended to soften its silhouette. Openings in the façade will reduce the building’s energy use by allowing natural ventilation.
Renzo Piano, the Italian architect who co-designed the Centre Pompidou, proposes cutting through the vast concrete podium at the tower’s base to reconnect it with the surrounding streets. New pedestrian routes, green spaces and a public plaza are intended to replace the fortress-like layout that has separated Tour Montparnasse from the neighborhood. Piano has described the project not as the creation of a new landmark but as an effort to “mend” a piece of 1970s urban planning.
Local officials have different opinions on the redevelopment.
Carine Petit, the mayor of the 14th Arrondissement, argues that the project places too much emphasis on commercial development and too little on public space. “Locals and even tourists in Paris don’t need another shopping center,” she said.
Philippe Goujon, the mayor of the neighboring 15th arrondissement, has praised the plans, arguing that the combination of greening and renovation offers a belated renewal.
Can a building long regarded as an architectural mistake ever be embraced? It will take years to know. For now, Tour Montparnasse has been given its first real chance to redeem itself.
