Tour First Explained

Building Name:Tour First
Former Name:Tour AXA
Tour UAP
Tour Assur
CB31
Location:1 Place des Saisons
La Défense, Courbevoie, France
Coordinates:48.8889°N 2.2517°W
Completion Date:1974
Renovation Date:2007 –2011
Status:Complete
Building Type:Commercial offices
Architectural Style:Modernism
Antenna Spire:231m (758feet)
Roof:225m (738feet)
Floor Count:52
Elevator Count:28
Floor Area:86707m2
Architect:Michel Stenzel
Pierre Dufau
Jean-Pierre Dacbert
Ren Architect:Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
SRA Architects
Engineer:Iosis Bâtiments
Main Contractor:GFC + Bouygues
Owner:Beacon Capital Partners
References:[1]

Tour First (previously known as Tour UAP between 1974 and 1998, and as Tour Axa between 1998 and 2007) is an office skyscraper in Courbevoie, in La Défense, the business district of the Paris metropolitan area.

The tower was built in 1974 by Bouygues for the UAP insurance company. The building was 159m (522feet) at that time. Its ground shape was in the form of a three-pointed star whose branches were separated each by a 120° angle. This particular shape was chosen to symbolize the merger of the three French insurance companies that were at the origin of UAP. The tower was renamed Tour Axa when UAP was bought by the Axa insurance company in 1996.

Large-scale renovation of the tower began in 2007 and was completed in 2011. The exterior appearance of the building was completely changed, with extra height added to the tower. The renovated tower, now known as Tour First, is 225m (738feet) at roof height, and 231m (758feet) including its spire, with a total floor space of 86707m2. It is currently the tallest skyscraper in France, only surpassed in height by the Eiffel Tower.

Another Axa tower exists in New York City, US, which is 228.6 m (751 ft) tall; Tour AXA in Montreal, Quebec, Canada was completed in 1974 and is 104m (341feet).

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Notes and References

  1. Web site: 3 August 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151008123746/https://www.emporis.com/buildings/110514 . dead . October 8, 2015 . Emporis.