mad architects tour montparnasse

MAD Architects unveils “Mirage” ─ a renovation proposal for Montparnasse Tower in Paris, France. MAD’s design transforms this huge black monolithic building ─ positioned in the city center ─ into an artistic lighting installation that reflects the city upside down.

After its completion in 1973, the 210 meter-high Montparnasse Tower became the tallest building in Paris. But through the years, there has been constant criticism over its intrusive existence in the city, that it has been coined the ‘scar of Paris’. In 2016, the owner called an international competition to renovate the tower, and MAD was one of seven short-listed firms out of more than 700 teams to participate.

MAD’s design uses concave principles to create an optical illusion by setting every glass panel of the façade to a specific angle, so that the building itself turns into a city-scale concave mirror. The streets and rooftops of the neighboring buildings appear as if they are hanging in the sky; while the sky is mirrored onto the lower section of the building, blending into the atmosphere. The design creates a mirage of Paris, but upside-down, as if it is floating in the air.

And, Paris’ other city landmark, the Eiffel Tower, will also appear upside down when looking at Montparnasse Tower from that direction.

Ma Yansong on the design: “At the time when it was built, Montparnasse Tower, like the Eiffel Tower, represented the pride and achievements of its era. It is mankind’s worship of technology and power that has created this tyrannical monument. It stands out amidst classical Paris. Today, we cannot really demolish this building and the historical regrets it stands for, but we can establish a new perspective to re-examine and think about how humanity can co-exist and interact with the tower and its environment, to bring meaning to our hearts.”

MAD’s “Mirage design proposal is currently on show in the Tour Montparnasse Exhibition at Pavillion de l’Arsenal, Paris.

nouvelle AOM chosen ahead of OMA and MAD to overhaul paris' tour montparnasse

nouvelle AOM, a consortium of three french firms, has been chosen to redesign paris’ montparnasse tower — holding off competition from OMA , MAD architects , and studio gang , among others. ‘when we took up the challenge of this exciting competition, our focus was on revealing the beauty of the tour montparnasse from the inside out,’ explains the winning team. ‘we achieved this by incorporating radically new uses and crafting a complete sustainable ‘green’ makeover of the façade. the aim is to make the tower an icon of the 21st century energy revolution.’

completed in 1973, the 59-storey structure was the last skyscraper to be built in paris. today, the tower remains an alien addition to the city’s relatively horizontal landscape. for decades, the unloved edifice has made parisians wary of the threat that such high-rises pose in permanently damaging the look and feel of the existing metropolis. launched in june 2016, the competition challenged bidders to create a powerful, dynamic and bold new identity for the tour montparnasse, while fully addressing all the challenges of the modern world regarding user accessibility, comfort and energy performance.

nouvelle AOM , (nouvelle agence pour l’opération maine-montparnasse) brings together a young generation of architects all born in the 1970s: franklin azzi, fréderic chartier, pascale dalix, mathurin hardel, and cyrille le bihan. the firm’s redesign seeks to ’emphasize the horizontal plane’, while making a marked shift from opacity to transparency. it is also hoped that new programming will transform the building into an active destination for the people of paris.

‘this was a huge challenge, as the tower isn’t like any other,’ says the building’s co-owners, who sat on the selection panel. ‘nouvelle AOM’s project perfectly captures the spirit of the 21st century, giving the tower a multifaceted identity revolving around attractive, innovative new uses. the tower will breathe new life into the montparnasse neighborhood.’ the €300 million renovation, financed entirely by the tower’s co-owners, is set to complete in time for the paris olympic games in 2024.

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Paris’s Only Skyscraper Turns 50–And the French Still Hate It

By Dan Avery

When it was completed in 1973, Paris’s Tour Montparnasse, or Montparnasse Tower, was the tallest building in France. It was also the most reviled, “Almost universally disdained for its hulking presence and incongruous scale,” according to Metropolis Magazine . As France rebuilt after World War II, civic leaders wanted to transform Montparnasse from a slum into a vibrant business district, with the 59-story chocolate-brown skyscraper designed by Eugène Beaudouin, Urbain Cassan, and Louis Hoym de Marien at its center.

French President Georges Pompidou approved the plans in 1969 and the project was completed four years later. But in a city defined by six-story cut-stone apartment buildings from the 19th century, the glass-and-steel monolith stuck out like a 690-foot sore thumb. (The longstanding joke has been that the tower has the best view in Paris because it’s the only place from which you can’t see it.)

Completed in 1973, Paris’ Montparnasse Tower (pictured in the back right) has been despised by locals since the day it was erected.

Just four years after Tour Montparnasse was completed, Paris banned buildings over seven stories tall from the city center, forcing high rises to the outskirts. After large-scale renovations to Tour First in La Défense, Montparnasse Tower was dethroned as the city’s tallest building in 2011. (It remains the tallest building in Paris proper, however.)

Though the passage of time has softened Parisians’ views of other controversial structures—including the Eiffel Tower, Louvre Pyramid, and Centre Pompidou—opprobrium for this modernist superstructure endures. In 2014, mayoral candidate Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet called it “an urban catastrophe” and proposed tearing it down . Of course, not everyone loathes the Montparnasse Tower: French daredevil Alain Robert scaled it twice, in 1995 and 2015.

And there have been plenty of high profile tenants over the years, including presidents François Mitterrand, Jacques Chirac, and Emmanuel Macron. There are also the throngs of tourists who flock to the rooftop terrace for unparalleled views of the City of Light. Superstar architect Daniel Libeskind has also defended the building or, rather, “the idea it represents.” “Parisians panicked when they saw it, and when they abandoned the tower they also abandoned the idea of a high-density sustainable city,” Libeskind wrote in a 2017 piece in The New York Times Magazine . “Maybe Tour Montparnasse is not a work of genius, but it signified a notion of what the city of the future will have to be.”

There is an old joke in Paris that the top of Montparnasse Tower has the prettiest view in the French capital. Not because of its breathtaking views of the Eiffel Tower, but because it is the only place where you do not have to see the skyscraper itself.

Sadly, contract disputes have led to the terrace’s closure and appear to have nixed any formal celebration of the building’s 50th anniversary. But the observatory has unveiled a new VR tour that allows visitors to travel through history and soar through the city skies. 

The saga of Tour Montparnasse isn’t finished: In 2017, Nouvelle AOM, a consortium of three French firms, beat out Studio Gang, OMA, and MAD Architects in an international competition to redesign its exterior. The $330 million makeover, slated to be completed in time for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, will transform the chocolate-brown colossus into a clear glass spire and an “icon of the 21st-century energy revolution,” AOM said .

In addition to a new façade, the project will add energy-efficient upgrades, hanging gardens, a rooftop greenhouse, and photovoltaic panels that will provide energy for half of the building’s lighting systems.

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MAD, inverts the tower Eiffel, with its proposal for the renovation of the Tour Montparnasse

“At the time when it was built, Montparnasse Tower, like the Eiffel Tower, represented the pride and achievements of its era. It is mankind’s worship of technology and power that has created this tyrannical monument. It stands out amidst classical Paris. Today, we cannot really demolish this building and the historical regrets it stands for, but we can establish a new perspective to re-examine and think about how humanity can co-exist and interact with the tower and its environment, to bring meaning to our hearts,” said Ma Yansong on the design.

MAD’s "Mirage" design proposal is currently on show in the Tour Montparnasse Exhibition at Pavillion de l’Arsenal, Paris. El ganador fue anunciado en las últimas semanas, sin embargo, de la lista de siete candidatos para rediseñar la famosa Torre de Montparnasse de París (incluidos los grandes bateadores como OMA, Studio Gang, Dominique Perrault), la propuesta "Mirage" de MAD Architects se destaca por más allá de una mera renovación de edificios.

"En el momento de su construcción, la Torre Montparnasse, como la Torre Eiffel, representaba el orgullo y los logros de su época. Es la adoración de la humanidad de la tecnología y el poder que ha creado este monumento tiránico. Se destaca en medio de la París clásica. Hoy en día, no podemos demoler realmente este edificio y los arrepentimientos históricos que representa, pero podemos establecer una nueva perspectiva para reexaminar y pensar sobre cómo la humanidad puede coexistir e interactuar con la torre y su entorno, para traer significado a nuestro corazones", dijo Ma Yansong sobre el diseño.

La propuesta de diseño "Mirage" de MAD está actualmente expuesta como parte de la exposición Tour Montparnasse, en el Pabellón del Arsenal, París.

Descripción del proyecto por MAD Architects Description of project by MAD Architects

MAD’s design transforms this huge black monolithic building ─ positioned in the city center ─ into an artistic lighting installation that reflects the city upside down. After its completion in 1973, the 210 meter-high Montparnasse Tower became the tallest building in Paris. But through the years, there has been constant criticism over its intrusive existence in the city, that it has been coined the ‘scar of Paris’. In 2016, the owner called an international competition to renovate the tower, and MAD was one of seven short-listed firms out of more than 700 teams to participate. MAD’s design uses concave principles to create an optical illusion by setting every glass panel of the façade to a specific angle, so that the building itself turns into a city-scale concave mirror. The streets and rooftops of the neighboring buildings appear as if they are hanging in the sky; while the sky is mirrored onto the lower section of the building, blending into the atmosphere. The design creates a mirage of Paris, but upside-down, as if it is floating in the air. And, Paris’ other city landmark, the Eiffel Tower, will also appear upside down when looking at Montparnasse Tower from that direction. ------ El diseño de MAD transforma este enorme edificio monolítico negro - situado en el centro de la ciudad - en una instalación de iluminación artística que refleja la ciudad al revés. Después de su terminación en 1973, la Torre Montparnasse de 210 metros de altura se convirtió en el edificio más alto de París. Pero con el paso de los años, ha habido una crítica constante sobre su intrusiva existencia en la ciudad, que se ha acuñado la "cicatriz de París". En 2016, el propietario convocó un concurso internacional para renovar la torre, y MAD fue una de las siete firmas preseleccionadas entre más de 700 equipos participantes. El diseño de MAD utiliza principios cóncavos para crear una ilusión óptica colocando cada panel de vidrio de la fachada en un ángulo específico, de modo que el propio edificio se convierta en un espejo cóncavo a escala urbana. Las calles y los tejados de los edificios vecinos aparecen como si estuvieran colgando en el cielo; mientras que el cielo se refleja en la parte inferior del edificio, mezclándose con la atmósfera. El diseño crea un espejismo de París, pero al revés, como si estuviera flotando en el aire. Y, otro punto de referencia de la ciudad de París, la Torre Eiffel, también aparecerá al revés cuando mire la Torre de Montparnasse en esa dirección.

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Moscow Metro

The Moscow Metro Tour is included in most guided tours’ itineraries. Opened in 1935, under Stalin’s regime, the metro was not only meant to solve transport problems, but also was hailed as “a people’s palace”. Every station you will see during your Moscow metro tour looks like a palace room. There are bright paintings, mosaics, stained glass, bronze statues… Our Moscow metro tour includes the most impressive stations best architects and designers worked at - Ploshchad Revolutsii, Mayakovskaya, Komsomolskaya, Kievskaya, Novoslobodskaya and some others.

What is the kremlin in russia?

The guide will not only help you navigate the metro, but will also provide you with fascinating background tales for the images you see and a history of each station.

And there some stories to be told during the Moscow metro tour! The deepest station - Park Pobedy - is 84 metres under the ground with the world longest escalator of 140 meters. Parts of the so-called Metro-2, a secret strategic system of underground tunnels, was used for its construction.

During the Second World War the metro itself became a strategic asset: it was turned into the city's biggest bomb-shelter and one of the stations even became a library. 217 children were born here in 1941-1942! The metro is the most effective means of transport in the capital.

There are almost 200 stations 196 at the moment and trains run every 90 seconds! The guide of your Moscow metro tour can explain to you how to buy tickets and find your way if you plan to get around by yourself.

Moscow Metro Tour - With Ratings

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Moscow Metro Tour

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Tour Information

Key Details

• Free Cancellation
• Duration: 1 Hr 30 Mins
• Language: English
• Departure Details : Get to the Biblioteka imeni Lenina (Lenin's Library, Red Line) or Alexandrovsky Sad (Alexander Garden, Light Blue Line) metro station. Use any exit. Find the Kutafia Tower of the Kremlin. The guide .. read more

The Moscow Metro has a long history to it. Also, the city has an extremely beautiful subway. It is very well maintained and is also extremely decorated. Each station and spot has a different artistic aspect to it. On this tour, experience the efficiency of Moscow Metro.

• Roam around the Revolution Square, with magnificent sculptures of the Soviet people
• Visit the Kurskaya Station Lobby, the Hall of Fame of the WWII
• Be awestruck at the Komsomolskaya , with impressive mural mosaics of Russian glorious victories
• See the artistic side of Novoslobodskaya , with the stained glass, although under the ground.

Know More about this tour

Take our Moscow Metro Tour and discover why our subway is recognized as the most beautiful in the world!

"They used to have palaces for kings, we are going to build palaces for the people!" said one of the main architects of the Soviet subway.

With us you will see the most beautiful metro stations in Moscow built under Stalin: Komsomolskaya, Revolution square, Novoslobodskaya, Mayakovskaya. Our guide will tell fascinating stories and secrets hidden underground, urban legends and funny stories.

How many babies were born on the Moscow metro? Where is the secret Metro 2? How deep is the Moscow metro? And where did Stalin give his speech in November 1941? Join out Metro tour and find out!

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Cancellation Policy

• If you cancel between 0 hrs To 24 hrs before scheduled tour departure, the cancellation charge will be 100%
• If you cancel between 1 days To 180 days before scheduled tour departure, the cancellation charge will be 0%
• Please note that in case of No show, the cancellation charge will be 100% of the listed tour fare.
• Please note tours booked using discount coupon codes will be non refundable.
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Tour Montparnasse: The Latest Architecture and News

Paris reimposes the ban on skyscrapers after tour triangle controversy.

The city of Paris has officially reinstated a rule that limits the height of new buildings in the French capital to 37 meters, or 12 storeys. Among the factors for the decision was the controversy surrounding the construction of the 180-meter-tall Tour Triangle, designed by Herzog & de Meuron , which began in 2021 after more than a decade of legal battles and backlash. The new urban planning regulation is introduced as part of Mayor Anne Hidalgo's Local Bioclimatic Urban Plan, which aims to reduce Paris' carbon emissions.

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Nouvelle AOM Wins Competition to Redesign Paris' Tour Montparnasse

The architectural consortium of Nouvelle AOM has been announced as the winner of the international competition for the renovation and redesign of Paris ’ Tour Montparnasse , beating out finalist Studio Gang and a shortlist of top firms.

Lauded by the jury for its “powerful, dynamic and bold new identity,” the winning entry will introduce an entirely new vegetated facade system that will improve both the tower’s immediate surroundings and the neighborhood as a whole.

"This was a huge challenge, as the Tower isn't like any other," the jury explained. "Nouvelle AOM's project perfectly captures the spirit of the 21st century, giving the Tower a multifaceted identity revolving around attractive, innovative new uses. The Tower will breathe new life into the Montparnasse neighbourhood." 

Studio Gang and nAOM Selected as Finalists to Redesign Paris’ Tour Montparnasse

Studio Gang and nAOM ( Franklin Azzi Architecture / Chartier Dalix / Hardel-Lebihan Architectes ) have been selected as the two finalist teams competing for the redesign of Paris ’ infamous Tour Montparnasse , beating out a star-studded shortlist that included OMA , MAD Architects (China) + DGLA (France), Architecture Studio , Dominique Perrault Architecture , and PLP Architecture .

The competition asked teams to submit a vision for the tower that “not only creates a powerful, dynamic and bold new identity for the Tour Montparnasse but also addresses all the challenges involved in terms of user accessibility, comfort and energy performance.”

The Unexpected Stories Behind 10 Skyscrapers That Were Actually Built

As long as there have been buildings mankind has sought to construct its way to the heavens. From stone pyramids to steel skyscrapers, successive generations of designers have devised ever more innovative ways to push the vertical boundaries of architecture. Whether stone or steel, however, each attempt to reach unprecedented heights has represented a vast undertaking in terms of both materials and labor – and the more complex the project, the greater the chance for things to go awry.

OMA, MAD Among 7 Architects Selected in Competition to Redesign Tour Montparnasse

The Ensemble Immobilier Tour Maine-Montparnasse (EITMM) has selected 7 notable firms to continue to the second round in a competition for the renovation of Tour Montparnasse in the Montparnasse district of Paris , France.

Often cited as one of the architecture world’s most hated buildings , Tour Montparnasse has been criticized for its discordance with the Parisian urban landscape – just two years after its completion, new buildings over seven stories high in the city centre were banned, leaving the tower as an alien presence on the skyline.

With the launching of the competition, the EITMM hopes to transform Tour Montparnasse into a beloved landmark with a complete renovation of the facade, the building entry and all interior spaces. The budget for the project is estimated to reach over 300 million Euro ($330 million USD), and will be funded in entirety by the building owners.

Moscow Metro Tour

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Description

Moscow metro private tours.

• 2-hour tour $87:  10 Must-See Moscow Metro stations with hotel pick-up and drop-off
• 3-hour tour $137:  20 Must-See Moscow Metro stations with Russian lunch in beautifully-decorated Metro Diner + hotel pick-up and drop off. 
• Metro pass is included in the price of both tours.

Highlight of Metro Tour

• Visit 10 must-see stations of Moscow metro on 2-hr tour and 20 Metro stations on 3-hr tour, including grand Komsomolskaya station with its distinctive Baroque décor, aristocratic Mayakovskaya station with Soviet mosaics, legendary Revolution Square station with 72 bronze sculptures and more!
• Explore Museum of Moscow Metro and learn a ton of technical and historical facts;
• Listen to the secrets about the Metro-2, a secret line supposedly used by the government and KGB;
• Experience a selection of most striking features of Moscow Metro hidden from most tourists and even locals;
• Discover the underground treasure of Russian Soviet past – from mosaics to bronzes, paintings, marble arches, stained glass and even paleontological elements;
• Learn fun stories and myths about Coffee Ring, Zodiac signs of Moscow Metro and more;
• Admire Soviet-era architecture of pre- and post- World War II perious;
• Enjoy panoramic views of Sparrow Hills from Luzhniki Metro Bridge – MetroMost, the only station of Moscow Metro located over water and the highest station above ground level;
• If lucky, catch a unique «Aquarelle Train» – a wheeled picture gallery, brightly painted with images of peony, chrysanthemums, daisies, sunflowers and each car unit is unique;
• Become an expert at navigating the legendary Moscow Metro system;
• Have fun time with a very friendly local;
• + Atmospheric Metro lunch in Moscow’s the only Metro Diner (included in a 3-hr tour)

Hotel Pick-up

Metro stations:.

Komsomolskaya

Novoslobodskaya

Prospekt Mira

Belorusskaya

Mayakovskaya

Novokuznetskaya

Revolution Square

Sparrow Hills

+ for 3-hour tour

Victory Park

Slavic Boulevard

Vystavochnaya

Dostoevskaya

Elektrozavodskaya

Partizanskaya

Museum of Moscow Metro

• Drop-off  at your hotel, Novodevichy Convent, Sparrow Hills or any place you wish
• + Russian lunch  in Metro Diner with artistic metro-style interior for 3-hour tour

Fun facts from our Moscow Metro Tours:

From the very first days of its existence, the Moscow Metro was the object of civil defense, used as a bomb shelter, and designed as a defense for a possible attack on the Soviet Union.

At a depth of 50 to 120 meters lies the second, the coded system of Metro-2 of Moscow subway, which is equipped with everything you need, from food storage to the nuclear button.

According to some sources, the total length of Metro-2 reaches over 150 kilometers.

The Museum was opened on Sportivnaya metro station on November 6, 1967. It features the most interesting models of trains and stations.

Coffee Ring

The first scheme of Moscow Metro looked like a bunch of separate lines. Listen to a myth about Joseph Stalin and the main brown line of Moscow Metro.

Zodiac Metro

According to some astrologers, each of the 12 stops of the Moscow Ring Line corresponds to a particular sign of the zodiac and divides the city into astrological sector.

Astrologers believe that being in a particular zadiac sector of Moscow for a long time, you attract certain energy and events into your life.

Paleontological finds 

Red marble walls of some of the Metro stations hide in themselves petrified inhabitants of ancient seas. Try and find some!

• Every day each car in  Moscow metro passes  more than 600 km, which is the distance from Moscow to St. Petersburg.
• Moscow subway system is the  5th in the intensity  of use (after the subways of Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai).
• The interval in the movement of trains in rush hour is  90 seconds .

What you get:

• + A friend in Moscow.
• + Private & customized Moscow tour.
• + An exciting pastime, not just boring history lessons.
• + An authentic experience of local life.
• + Flexibility during the walking tour: changes can be made at any time to suit individual preferences.
• + Amazing deals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the very best cafes & restaurants. Discounts on weekdays (Mon-Fri).
• + A photo session amongst spectacular Moscow scenery that can be treasured for a lifetime.
• + Good value for souvenirs, taxis, and hotels.
• + Expert advice on what to do, where to go, and how to make the most of your time in Moscow.

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