Voltaire

Like the Pascal Tower, delivered five years earlier, the Voltaire Tower is composed of two buildings but placed perpendicularly. The two projects, directed by Henri La Fonta, are conceived as a whole. A group of buildings of unequal importance that forms, according to the artwork master, "an opening onto the La Défense district".
To accentuate this effect, the façades of the buildings are homogenized. Square weave, semi-reflective glazing and Silobre granite are used, marking in passing the abandonment of the entirely glazed buildings.
Originally erected for the Worms Bank, the Voltaire Tower housed a collection of contemporary artwork, including a video installation of several film excerpts interpreted by Humphrey Bogart and signed by Korean artist Nam June Paik.

A word about the architect

Before becoming an architect, Henri La Fonta first tried his hand at sculpture and painting. However, his training at the Camondo School led him to architecture. He gained his first experience in 1951 in Morocco as a collaborator and then returned to Paris in the 1960s. There, he worked for several design offices.
In 1977, he founded his own agency. This agency quickly established itself thanks to the creativity and conceptual rigour he demonstrated in his work. At La Défense, Henri La Fonta is, from the 1980s, the main instigator of the renewal of office buildings. The business district owes him Les Miroirs as well as the Pascal and Voltaire Towers.