Paris gives the nod for triangular skyscraper

The French capital, Paris, is to get its first 100-plus-metre skyscraper in over 40 years, after Herzog & de Meuron won planning permission for its 180-m-tall Tour Triangle tower.

Plans for the controversial triangular tower were approved by city councillors last month, overturning the decision made by the same committee in November 2014 to reject the proposed structure.

When completed, Tour Triangle will become the city’s third tallest structure, after the 324-m Eiffel Tower and the 210-m Montparnasse Tower, the last building over 100 m to be built (in 1973) in the French capital. Backed by real estate giant Unibail-Rodamco, the proposed skyscraper will host a 120-room hotel, co-working office spaces, and cultural facilities.

The skyscraper project has met with fierce criticism from local residents, who claim that the building will overshadow them, while some politicians have asserted that the design is unsustainable. But on June 30, the project was granted planning permission, according to local reports.