Tour Thiers, Skyscraper in Nancy, France

Tour Thiers is a high-rise at 4-6 rue Piroux in Nancy, next to the train station. It was designed by architects Michel Folliasson and Jacques Binoux and completed in 1975. The tower consists of two joined sections: a shorter white slab and a taller section with a dense grid of rectangular windows and masts on its flat roof.

The building was constructed in 1975 and required the demolition of several 19th-century structures, including the Hotel Thiers and other Art Nouveau buildings. This construction marked a turning point in Nancy's development and led the city to establish stricter guidelines for future tall building projects.

The tower stands on the site of the former Hôtel Thiers, whose owners, the Hanus family, initiated the project; the municipality of Marcel Martin backed it. Its name keeps that of the old hotel and of Place Thiers, where a statue of Adolphe Thiers by Ernest Guilbert stood until it was dismantled in 1974. The glass and concrete building replaced a square of brasseries, terraces and Art Nouveau shopfronts.

The location is convenient near the train station and accessible from multiple street sides. Those wanting to view the building should approach from Place Thiers, where the best views of the structure are available.

The tower's construction ended Nancy's brief high-rise era: the planned 120-metre Tour Stanislas in the Saint-Sébastien district was abandoned, and the 53-metre Résidence du Trident, built afterwards, remains the city's last such building. The tower also blocks the western view from Place Stanislas, 700 metres away.