The observation deck at Tour Montparnasse closed on March 31, 2026 after more than thirty million visitors. The building is being emptied so it can be taken back to its frame.
Nouvelle AOM, a consortium of Franklin Azzi Architecture, Chartier Dalix Architectes and Hardel Le Bihan Architectes, won the international competition for the job in 2017. Construction begins in summer 2026 with delivery targeted around 2030. Reported budget figures vary between the 300 million euros cited at the 2017 competition and 624 million euros in more recent trade coverage.
Project Scope
The 210-metre, 59-storey tower gets a completely new all-glass envelope, full asbestos removal, a rooftop greenhouse for urban agriculture, and a hotel. SETEC is on structure, T/E/S/S on facade and Elioth on sustainability. The co-owners’ association, EITMM, is the client.
Renzo Piano Building Workshop is separately redesigning the adjacent 1970s Montparnasse commercial centre and the nearby CIT Tower, so the district changes at grade at the same time the tower changes above it.
Why It Matters
Paris has spent fifty years disliking this building. It went up in 1973, and the city banned towers above seven storeys inside the peripherique shortly afterward, which is why it’s still the only one.
Demolition was seriously discussed and rejected. Stripping a 210-metre tower to its structure and reskinning it keeps essentially the entire embodied carbon of the frame in place. The reason that argument won here is that the frame is fine: the envelope, the asbestos and the energy performance are the problems, and none of them require a new building.
Project Team & Details
| Owner / Client | EITMM (Ensemble Immobilier Tour Maine-Montparnasse) |
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| Architect | Nouvelle AOM (Franklin Azzi Architecture / Chartier Dalix Architectes / Hardel Le Bihan Architectes) |
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| Consultants | SETEC (Structure)
T/E/S/S (Facade)
Elioth (Sustainability) |
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| Status | Planned |
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| Funding Source | Private |
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