Herzog & de Meuron’s Towering Triangular Skyscraper Receives Green Light for Construction in Paris

First unveiled in 2008, <strong><a href="http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/03/25/miami-art-museum-by-herzog-de-meuron/" target="new">Herzog &amp; de Meuron's</a></strong> Le Project Triangle has just received approval from the cross-party council of Paris for its construction. An incredible structure that will rise 200 meters from the Porte de Versailles in Paris, the stunning skyscraper will feature a profile so slim that it casts virtually no shadow and its orientation will be optimized to take advantage of both <a href="http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/01/24/aquarius-tower-the-most-sustainable-edifice-on-the-atlanta-skyline/" target="new">solar</a> and <a href="http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/06/09/rotating-wind-powered-tower-to-begin-construction-in-dubai/" target="new">wind power</a>. Paris' new pyramid will be the first high-rise to be approved for construction is the city's center since 1977, thanks to the recent lifting of a 31-year-old ban established by the previous Mayor of paris, Jacques Chirac. If the ‘Triangle Tower’ is able to make it through all of the red-tape it will face over the coming years, it is estimated that the building will be completed by 2017.

Herzog &amp; de Meuron the architects responsible for many well-know projects, like the <a href="http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/06/30/herzog-and-de-meurons-portsmouth-stadium/" target="new">Portsmouth Soccer Stadium</a> in England, Beijing's <a href="http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/04/10/beijing-birdsnest-new-pics-of-herzog-demeurons-stunning-stadium/" target="new">Birdnest Stadium</a>, and the <a href="http://www.arcspace.com/architects/herzog_meuron/de_young.html" target="new">de Young Museum</a> in San Francisco.

Their latest project is expected to restore flow to it's environs by reconnecting the rue de Vaugirard and avenue Ernest Renan at the site of the building.

This first of many high-rise buildings currently being planned for Paris, Projet Triangle will incorporate shops and restaurants at the ground level in addition to offices, a conference center and a 400 room hotel.

Upon completion in 2014, the project will be the third tallest structure in the inner city after the Eiffel Tower and Tour Montparnasse.

"The Triangle is conceived as a piece of the city that could be pivoted and positioned vertically. It is carved by a network of vertical and horizontal traffic flows of variable capacities and speeds. Like the boulevards, streets and more intimate passages of a city, these traffic flows carve the construction into islets of varying shapes and sizes. This evocation of the urban fabric of Paris, at once classic and coherent in its entirety and varied and intriguing in its details, is encountered in the façade of the Triangle. Like that of a classical building, this one features two levels of interpretation: an easily recognizable overall form and a fine, crystalline silhouette of its façade which allows it to be perceived variously."

The pyramid's construction may be a point of contention for many Parisians, as polls have found that <a href="http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&amp;upload_id=10397" target="new">62% do not favor high rises</a> within the city, however Herzon &amp; de Meuron are confident that their new project will integrate into the Parisian landscape perfectly.