An international competition was announced to redesign of Paris's most hated Montparnasse Tower last year and a €700 million makeover needed to radically change the building. But, an architecture competition quaranteed that the revamp of the tower will be cost 300M€ by creating a modern and accessible urban centre in the heart of Paris’s left bank. 

Following a Board meeting held on October 14th, 2016, the elected representatives of the co-owners of the Montparnasse Tower have pre-selected 7 architects – 3 French and 4 International:

Architecture Studio – France
Dominique Perrault Architecture – France
MAD Architects – China (in partnership with DGLA)
nAOM (Franklin Azzi Architecture / Chartier Dalix / Hardel-Lebihan Architectes) – France
OMA – Holland
PLP Architecture– UK
Studio Gang – US

7 architects selected from over 700 interested candidates from all over the world will now compete for the second stage of the tender following the kick-off of the international competition last June. The agencies, made-up of multi-disciplinary teams, now need to come up with a project that is capable of giving a powerful, innovative, dynamic and ambitious new identity to the famous Parisian landmark, whilst integrating the challenges of usage, comfort and energy performance to the highest levels, in their proposals. The entire project is estimated at a cost of over 300M€, and financial support 100% will be provided by private sector, by the co-owners of the Montparnasse Tower.

At the Board Meeting, the representatives for the Tower co-owners were unanimous in their praise of the 7 candidates: ''the 7 agencies were selected for their reliability, expertise, audacity and their understanding of the challenges we face,'' commented one stakeholder.

The second stage of the international competition is under way. The 7 candidates will submit their proposals in March 2017. A 3rd stage will challenge the last 2 finalists before the designation of the winner in July 2017. The work is due to start in 2019 and be delivered over the course of 2023.

''We are delighted with this varied and audacious selection of architects which promises a great diversity of ideas, approaches and innovations for the transformation of the Montparnasse Tower, the initial stage in the renovation of the whole area,'' said Jean-Louis Missika, deputy to the Mayor of Paris, in charge of urban planning, architecture and economic development for the Greater Paris project.

The competition is the first keystone of a flagship project, Demain Montparnasse. With an ultimate objective of the complete renovation of the Montparnasse Tower, the competition is only the first building-block in a much larger project, still to be completely defined, but which aims to restore the surrounding property’s role as a modern and accessible urban centre in the heart of Paris’s left bank.

Top image courtesy of Demain Montparnasse

> via demain-montparnasse.com