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Tour Perret (Amiens)

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Residential apartments in Amiens, France
Tour Perret
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeResidential apartments
Architectural styleEarly modernism
Location13 Place Alphonse-Fiquet
Amiens, France
Coordinates49°53′27″N 2°18′23″E / 49.8909°N 2.3063°E / 49.8909; 2.3063
Completed1949–1952
Height
Antenna spire110 m (360 ft)
Roof103.9 m (341 ft)
Technical details
Floor count25
Design and construction
Architect(s)Auguste Perret
DeveloperMinistry of Reconstruction and Urban Development
Main contractorA. Bouvet et fils
References

Tour Perret (English: Perret Tower) is a 29-storey, 110 m (360 ft) residential skyscraper in Amiens, France. It has been described as France's first skyscraper, and was registered as a historic monument in 1975.

Its building was part of a large scale reconstruction project helmed by architect Auguste Perret in the Place Alphone-Fiquet neighborhood, which also involved a rebuild of the nearby railway station. The design phase started as early as 1942, following extensive damages suffered by downtown Amiens during World War II. Perret intended it as an office building before authorities overruled him.

Originally measuring 104 metres, Tour Perret was the highest, and the first 100-plus metre skyscraper built in France, although it was not the highest in Western Europe, as it has sometimes been written. The building actually fell slightly short of its intended height as its topmost part, a belfry adorned with a monumental clock, was never built due to delays and cost overruns.

In 2005, the tower was finally completed with a so-called Sablier de lumière (English: Hourglass of Light) designed by architect Thierry Van de Wyngaert. It is a cube made of 192 active glass panels whose transparency can be electrically adjusted, illuminated by twelve circular neon lamps which project different colors depending on the time of day. In 2017, the lighting system was redesigned and simplified for cost and practicality. The cube's addition brought the height of the building up to 110 metres.

References

  1. ^ "L'invention de la tour européenne (5/30) : Tour Perret (1952), Amiens (France)". lemoniteur.fr. 17 July 2009. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  2. "Tour Perret". CTBUH Skyscraper Center.
  3. "Emporis building ID 130464". Emporis. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. "Tour Perret". SkyscraperPage.
  5. Tour Perret at Structurae
  6. ^ Mette, Nathalie (1996). "Ensemble des immeubles de la place Alphonse-Fiquet à Amiens". hautsdefrance.fr. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  7. "Premier gratte ciel Français à Amiens". Les actualités françaises. 29 November 1951. ORTF.
  8. ^ Tourneur, Frédéric (November–December 2005). "Le sablier de verre" (PDF). Lux: la revue francophone de l'éclairage. No. 235. pp. 44–45.
  9. "La reconstruction d'Amiens : la tour et la gare Perret". ina.fr. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  10. "The History of the European Skyscraper" (PDF). CTBUH Journal: 52. 2013.
  11. Drouin, Patrice (22 April 1999). "La tour Perret d'Amiens va enfin être terminée". lesechos.fr. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  12. Vandevoorde, David (24 November 2017). "À Amiens, le cube au sommet de la tour Perret bénéficie d'un nouveau système d'éclairage". courrier-picard.fr. Retrieved 10 January 2022.

External links

Timeline of the tallest buildings in France
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