Tour Total, Office skyscraper in La Défense, France.
Tour Total is a 190 m office skyscraper in La Défense, Courbevoie, made up of five adjoining bodies of different heights; the tallest has 48 floors, the next two 44 and 37. Its glass curtain wall is silvery-blue with a regular grid of mullions, and the broad lower section has a large rectangular indentation. A white "TOTAL" inscription and circular logo sit near the top.
Construction of the building began in 1982 and was completed in 1985 under the direction of architects WZMH Architects and Roger Saubot. The project arose during a period of rapid growth in the business quarter and contributed to its development as a major European business center.
The tower's successive names record its corporate history: Tour Elf from 1985 to 1999, Tour TotalFinaElf from 1999 to 2003, then Tour Total. It has housed the headquarters of TotalEnergies, and before that the offices of Elf Aquitaine, which Total acquired in 2000. The white "TOTAL" inscription and circular logo near the top of the tallest volume mark it from across the district.
The building sits directly next to the La Défense metro station and is easy to reach by public transportation. Ground-level entrances and surrounding sidewalks make approaching it straightforward whether you arrive by train or on foot.
The site was originally reserved for a twin tower of the Tour Areva, but the 1974 oil shock led investors to cancel that project; the Tour Total was built there instead. Its location code in the La Défense master plan was CB2. The building is actually five adjoining bodies of different heights, the tallest with 48 floors and the next two with 44 and 37.
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