Tour
Areva
Areva S.A. is a French multinational group specializing in nuclear power headquartered in Courbevoie, France. Before its 2016 corporate restructuring, Areva was majority-owned by the French state through the French Alternative Energies and Atom ...
(previously known as Tour Framatome and Tour Fiat) is an office
skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...
designed by global architects
SOM and located in
La Défense
La Défense () is a major business district in France, located west of the city limits of Paris. It is part of the Paris metropolitan area in the Île-de-France region, located in the department of Hauts-de-Seine in the communes of Courbevoie, ...
, a high-rise
business district
A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...
, and in the commune of
Courbevoie
Courbevoie () is a commune located in the Hauts-de-Seine Department of the Île-de-France region of France. It is in the suburbs of the city of Paris, from the center of Paris. The centre of Courbevoie is situated from the city limits of Par ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, west of
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
.
Built in 1974, the tower is 184 m (604 feet) tall.
Tour Areva is entirely black; its cladding is made of dark granite and darkened windows. Its shape is that of a perfect
square prism
In geometry, a cuboid is a hexahedron, a six-faced solid. Its faces are quadrilaterals. Cuboid means "like a cube", in the sense that by adjusting the length of the edges or the angles between edges and faces a cuboid can be transformed into a cub ...
. It is said that its architects were inspired by the black monolith in
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...
's film ''
2001: A Space Odyssey''.
The site where the tower was built was codenamed CB1 in La Défense initial master plan. A twin tower of Tour Areva was initially planned at the current location of the
Tour Total
Tour Total (previously known as Tour Elf from 1985 to 1999, then Tour TotalFinaElf from 1999 to 2003) is an office skyscraper located in La Défense, Courbevoie, the high-rise business district west of and adjacent to the city of Paris, France, ...
, but was cancelled due to the
1973 oil crisis
The 1973 oil crisis or first oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at nations that had supp ...
.
See also
*
List of tallest structures in Paris
The tallest structure in the City of Paris and the Île-de-France remains the Eiffel Tower in the 7th arrondissement, 300 meters high ''(or 330 m including the broadcasting antenna at its top)'', completed in 1889 as the gateway to the 1889 Pari ...
External links
Tour Areva(Emporis)
Expatriates MagazineA Printed publication distributed in Tour Areva for international employees
{{DEFAULTSORT:Areva
Skyscraper office buildings in France
La Défense
Office buildings completed in 1974
Buildings and structures completed in 1974