Tour T1, Office skyscraper in La Défense, France
Tour T1 is a 185-metre office skyscraper in La Défense, Courbevoie, designed by Valode & Pistre with a form likened to a sheet folded in two or a sail filled with wind. Its south facade is strictly vertical, while the north side steps down toward Courbevoie. The glass curtain wall is capped by curved metal latticework bearing the words "areva" and "tour"; a lower section with the sign "pullman" stands in front.
Built between 2005 and 2008 by architects Valode & Pistre, this tower emerged as part of the district's expansion into a major business hub. The structure reflects the growth phase of the area during the 2000s.
The tower is also called Tour GDF Suez, after the tenant that moved in during March 2010 and whose name appears as "engie" in white letters below the steel lattice dome. Since April 2010 the climber Alain Robert has scaled its glass facade bare-handed three times, in 2010, 2013 and 2015, followed by Léo Urban in August 2020 and Alexis Landot in December 2020.
The tower stands in Courbevoie on the La Défense esplanade, with its vertical south facade facing the district and its north side stepping down toward the lower town. The building is not open to the public: it is a corporate office leased in full, so visits are limited to the lobby and the surrounding esplanade. From the fourth quarter of 2025 to 20 March 2026 the occupants move out, and from mid-May 2026 Bouygues Construction carries out restructuring work until 2028.
Tour T1 stands as the third-tallest structure in La Défense, following Tour Total and Tour First, with its entire space dedicated to a single corporate tenant.
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