Granite

Granite

Year of construction: 2008
Architect: Atelier Christian de Portzamparc
Surface area: 67,740 sq.m
Height: 184 m. 35 floors

Address: Boulevard des Bouvets - 92800 Puteaux
Nearest car park : Valmy
Nearest metro station: La Défense Grande Arche

With the selection of Christian de Portzamparc in 2003 for the Granite Tower project, La Défense can be proud to have attracted one of the most outstanding architects of his generation. But beyond this aspect, the entire profession sees this as a sign of evolution. From the 1970s to 2000, a clear distinction was in fact observed between the architects in charge of the construction of the towers and the young guard confined to the residences. Christian de Portzamparc managed to reconcile the two.
The Granite Tower, originally planned as an extension to the Chassagne and Alicante towers of Société Générale, completed the Valmy district. Articulated in the shape of a dihedral with prismatic faces, it offers different images depending on the point of view. The texture of the façades, which also differ in the west and east, contributes to this effect. The building thus perfectly plays its role as the head of the Valmy district.
As the first building in La Défense to be certified "NF Bâtiment tertiaire démarche HQE", the Granite Tower is the emblem of the new generation of towers combining formal richness and technical improvement.
Directly linked to the Société Générale towers by a covered bridge, it is also served by a metal footbridge signed by Austrian Dietmar Feichtinger.

A word about the architect

Trained at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Christian de Portzamparc did not start a career as a builder until the early 1970s, after several years of research. He made a name for himself in 1974 with his housing complex arranged around a garden for the Petite Roquette in Paris 11th. In 1979, in collaboration with Georgia Benamo, he built the 209 social housing units in the Hautes-Formes, in the 13th arrondissement of Paris.
First French winner of the prestigious Pritzker Prize in 2004, he subsequently signed several cultural facilities. Christian de Portzamparc is distinguished by his concern for sculpting buildings from a theoretical volume. A concept that he took up again in the Valmy district with the Granite Tower.

Granite

  • Granite
  • Granite
  • Granite