Tour de Lille, Office skyscraper in Euralille, France
Tour de Lille is a 116-metre office tower in the Euralille business district, designed by Christian de Portzamparc. Its upper volume is a tapering tower of green-tinted glass panels with a top edge that slants down to the left, resting on a wider, lower block clad in pale green panels with small rectangular windows. That block is raised on thick concrete columns above a recessed glazed base, beside a paved open square.
Construction of the Tour de Lille began in 1991 and was completed in 1995, as part of the Euralille development led by mayor Pierre Mauroy to bring the LGV Nord high-speed rail line near the city centre. The tower was designed by Christian de Portzamparc and first called tour du Crédit-Lyonnais until 2006.
Locals call the tower "the ski boot", "the flipper" or simply "the L", nicknames drawn from its slanted silhouette above Lille-Europe station. It was built as part of Euralille, the business district launched around the arrival of the LGV Nord high-speed line that mayor Pierre Mauroy wanted close to the city centre.
The building is well served by elevators and located directly next to major railway stations, making it easily accessible by public transport. The position in the heart of the business district allows you to explore the area and other local attractions on foot.
The tower's plan has no parallel or perpendicular edges, a constraint imposed by the narrow site between the metro, Lille-Europe station and underground car parks. Its 70-metre bridge-like structure rests on these tight foundations, with most offices turned toward central Lille rather than the railway tracks.
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