Tour Montparnasse renovation halted amid disagreements between owners
Renovation plans for Paris's Tour Montparnasse have been halted due to disagreements among private co-owners regarding costs and design. The project, intended to modernize the skyscraper, has seen its budget balloon to €800 million.
Why it matters
The project highlights the complexities of urban redevelopment and the challenges of managing historic or controversial architecture in major European cities.
The Tour Montparnasse has been emptied and closed for renovation. Photograph: Manon Levet/Hans Lucas/AFP/Getty Images The Tour Montparnasse has been emptied and closed for renovation. Photograph: Manon Levet/Hans Lucas/AFP/Getty Images Paris Tour Montparnasse renovation halted amid disagreements between owners Plans to modernise ‘Paris’s ugliest building’ at a standstill after clashes over plans and pricing
Prefer the Guardian on Google It has been called a carbuncle on the Paris skyline, a sombre skyscraper where visitors to its viewing platform often joke that the city looks better when you can’t see the building itself.
The much-maligned Tour Montparnasse, a lone, dark monolith with tinted windows rising above a historic neighbourhood in the south of the city, is once again at the centre of controversy after its long-awaited renovation was halted this week because of disagreements between its many private co-owners.
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