Tour CB21, Modernist skyscraper in La Défense, France
Tour CB21 is a 44-story tower standing 179 meters tall with a distinctive Greek cross-shaped floor plan. The building contains roughly 70,500 square meters of office space serving multiple international companies.
Designed by American architect Max Abramovitz, Tour Gan was built from 1972 to 1974. A 1972 protest campaign demanded a reduction in its height, but President Georges Pompidou's support for tall towers kept the planned height. It was the second tallest building in Paris on completion. Renamed Tour CB21 in 2009, it was bought by Foncière des Régions in 2007 for 486 million euros.
The tower's name changed from Tour Gan to Tour CB21 in 2009, and the Suez Environnement sign was mounted on it in autumn 2010. Its lower third houses firms such as AIG, Groupon, Nokia and Verizon, while Suez and its subsidiaries occupy the rest.
The tower connects directly to public transportation networks, making it easy to reach from across the city. Keep in mind this is an active office building, so visiting may require permission or be limited to common areas.
The building received a complete external renovation in 2010 with new cladding that improved both its appearance and energy efficiency. This modernization made it one of the most energy-conscious towers in La Défense.
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