Architects Serero have won a competition to temporarily remodel the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (via The Guardian). Update 29/03/08: we all got spoofed by this one. Seems the project is a fake.
Serero’s winning proposal, called Eiffel DNA, involves bolting a temporary Kevlar structure to the top of the tower, doubling the surface area of the viewing platforms.
The design was created using a generative computer script that took the tower’s existing structure and “grew” it so the new addition replicates the pattern, or DNA, of the original.
The competition was organised by Eiffel Tower operator Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel to celebrate the 120th anniversary of the structure, which was completed in 1889.
Here’s some info from Serero’s website:
–
EIFFEL DNA
Restructuration of public spaces of the Eiffel Tower
2008
“… the authentic laws of the energy are not always conformal with the secret laws of the harmony…” Gustave Eiffel
The Eiffel tower in Paris suffers from its success. Since its creation the amount of visitors coming to reach its top has increased to reach its limit capacity. 6.5 millions People wait between 35 minutes to 1H10 to reach the elevators. The floor area of each level decreases with the height because of the tower geometry resulting in very long waiting lines and crowd management problems.
In celebration of the 120th birthday of the tower, the Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel decided to restructure the public reception and access areas of the tower. The proposal of SERERO Architects aims to create a temporary horizontal extension of the third floor of the tower in order to increase the quality of the access of the public as well as experiencing the fantastic 360 degrees sight of Paris.
When Gustave Eiffel designed the tower, he imagined that the tower would become the support of a great variety of scientific devices and experimentations to study gravity and wind pressure. The structure of the tower was therefore designed for increase of its weight. During World War I, the tower was holding antennas to retransmit radio wave to the whole country. Structural simulation of the Eiffel tower indicates that it is a highly hyperstatic structure, which is dimensioned for a weight higher than what it is supporting today.
The structure
Our project will extend the top floor plate of the tower by grafting a high performance carbon Kevlar structure on it. The structure will be temporarily bolted to the slab without requiring any modification of the existing structure. It will expand the usable floor area from 280 m2 to 580m2. The extension is composed of 2 slabs connected to the third floor deck as well as the upper level used as an apartment of Mister Eiffel (a space provided for temporary resting of Gustave Eiffel).
Generative Design
The design is based on a generative script, creating branches out of the primary structure of the tower. Inspired by the structural concept of Eiffel of three-dimensional cross bracing beams, the script unfolds along curved lines the “DNA” of the tower. The script used the existing structure at the top of the tower ( a 10 by 10 meters cube) to generate 3 structural weaves, which are interconnected. These layers are combined to create a woven complex, which is based on the redundancy and the non-repetition of patterns to increase its structural performance. In opposition with modern engineering (based on the concept of repetition and optimization), the project for the Eiffel tower extension is based on an alternative model of high performance.
Client : Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel
Site : Champs de Mars, Paris
Floor area : 589 m2 ( 282m2 at level 3.1 and 589 at level 3.2)
Structure: Carbon Kevlar, steel connectors, and metal mesh
Budget : 1.3 millions euros
Carbon Kevlar density: 240 g/m2
Surface structure : 1434m2 ( level 3.1 = 386 m2, level 3.2 = 674m2, level 3 = 1097 m2)
Weight of structure alone: total = 1 200 Kg
New third floor capacity: 1,700 persons per hour
Design Team : Serero Architects : Antoine Bourdeau, Louisa Gouesnard, Dusanka Malicevic Yoichi Ozawa, Jean-Philippe Sanfourche, David Serero, Taichi Sunayama, Fabrice Zaini
–
Posted by Marcus Fairs
I just can’t believe it will weigh only 1200 kilograms.
March 25th, 2008 at 12:22 amcrazy & amazing.. great site!
March 25th, 2008 at 12:33 amAwesome!!!
March 25th, 2008 at 1:29 amwow
March 25th, 2008 at 1:37 amfantastique
March 25th, 2008 at 2:40 amReally nice! actually it look like it could have been here since the origins of the tower!
March 25th, 2008 at 7:22 amBut about the “DNA script” thing, is it a simple fashionable trick or do they really cannot create those shapes by their own?
Anyway, the computer and the programmer did a nice job…
that’s horrible… it would be a crime built something like that over eiffel’s tower…!
March 25th, 2008 at 9:29 amit looks like a (horrible) parasite…!
it looks like a (beautifull) parasite…!
March 25th, 2008 at 10:02 amI thing, that`s absolutely wrong: “experiencing the fantastic 360 degrees sight of Paris.” If you will stand up there, you will see one and only…huge “DNA” railing!!! Don`t you thing, that the concept disclaims the basic principles of viewer deck? To see the city without optical barrier?
March 25th, 2008 at 10:15 amconsidering no parisian ever looks at the Eiffel tower , I wonder how many would notice ..
March 25th, 2008 at 10:22 amThis generative computer script is really interesting and the results are pretty impressive, I think it’ll look fantastic. Can’t believe how light it will be though!
March 25th, 2008 at 11:14 amWhat would Grace Jones say?
March 25th, 2008 at 12:03 pmand Jean Paul Goude…
March 25th, 2008 at 12:45 pmSkirts not allowed due to moderate windy conditions
March 25th, 2008 at 2:10 pmLooks like they’ve turned it into the parachute tower on Coney island.
March 25th, 2008 at 3:16 pmBut I like it nevertheless.
martin said it. The structure will be between the spectators and the views of Paris…
March 25th, 2008 at 3:26 pmThis is a weird joke with the Eiffel Tower.
The nature of the tower is based on pure construction logic far away from “the floating amoeba” stuck on top!
May be not a very successful exercise based on the popularity of London Eye for example.
Not liking it.
March 25th, 2008 at 4:27 pmLets see James Bond climb over this shall we…………
March 25th, 2008 at 5:04 pmAmazing but ireally prefer the old one, the original look looks much better
March 25th, 2008 at 6:27 pmAPRIL FOOL !!!
March 25th, 2008 at 10:44 pmworld is becoming “hortera”
March 26th, 2008 at 12:13 pmNo! This is horrible… why?????
March 26th, 2008 at 4:30 pmThe Eiffel doesn’t need anything, and also i suspect the architects must’ve been drunk while designing this……..
After again having looked at these wonderful illusions I have already forgotten what the original looked like!
March 26th, 2008 at 6:16 pmtell me… what so much fuss about this other stuppide metaphore. The DNA, come on, get back from the 70ies dude!
March 27th, 2008 at 1:47 amwhy why why come up with something this organically beautiful and have it symmetrical from above? would it not be far more arresting if you couldn’t quite work out the whole structure from a quick glance?
March 27th, 2008 at 9:46 amthis sucks!!!!
March 27th, 2008 at 7:51 pmI agree, the structure is between the view and the occupants. The design certainly follows in the tradition of Art Nouvea; the arguement that the structure is of innecessities is moot because several major elements of the original tower merely contribute to our intuitive reading of the tower’s forces (but actually carry quite little force). Still, occupants will be pressed to move their head side to side for a complete picture of anything below the horizon. Additionally, it’s gonna get REAL cold and REAL windy up there. At least in the original, folks are huddled together in a cage where body warmth and limited exposure contributes to comfort.
March 27th, 2008 at 9:35 pmFANTASTICO y EXCELENTE
March 28th, 2008 at 2:38 amSuch intrusions are so rarely successful. This is wonderful!
March 28th, 2008 at 3:47 amOf course it will destroy existing sightlines from the top, resulting in the exact opposite of the designers intent. But since it looks cool, why do they care?
However, 1200Kg of Kevlar spread out over roughly 1000M2 makes me suspect that this thing will flex, kind of like a trampoline. So, on a breezy day with lots of visitors bouncing across it, the thing will truly look like the center of Paris is spewing it’s DNA! How truly French!!
March 28th, 2008 at 4:26 amAnother way to sucker more Americans to Paris. Brilliant.
March 28th, 2008 at 5:35 amDNA? Looks like the Tower just got a “happy ending” and could use a cigarrette.
March 28th, 2008 at 12:02 pmI think it looks absolutely astonishing, though I’m glad it will only be temporary. You would NEVER get me to step out onto that platform without MAJOR tranquilizers …
March 28th, 2008 at 12:06 pmIt looks great! And to everyone that is complaining, you should be made aware that the tower itself was seen as a ‘monstrosity’ when it was first built, and we all know how much we love it today. This new extension looks beautiful and natural. I think it should stay once it’s added!
March 28th, 2008 at 12:56 pmLooks like a mushroom made into an Easter Bonnet stuck on the top of the Tower. Ugh! I am glad I visited the tower before such a project is launched. However, been to Paris, done that, no need to go back.
March 28th, 2008 at 1:28 pmThe Eiffell tower itself was hated by the public when it was first created, so regardless of what you may think aesthetically time will tell!
Personally i think it’s incredibly
March 28th, 2008 at 2:07 pmI know I’ve seen this design somewhere…hmm…oh yes, it’s the Seattle Space Needle. Hardly original, guys.
March 28th, 2008 at 2:12 pmIt should be square. The tower has a square cross-section from its base all the way up. The addition is jarringly curvy and blobby-looking.
If it has to be blobby, it should at least be sky-blue. Or cornflower blue. Then it would look like a flower, and the original structure would not look as violated. It should at least be possible to visually isolate and distinguish the real tower from the tacky mess glued to the top.
As it stands it’s hideous.
Way to gild the lily, frogs.
March 28th, 2008 at 2:15 pmleave the eiffel tower alone …
March 28th, 2008 at 2:42 pmHere’s the real reason for the change:
http://evilkarl.com/2008/03/20/eiffel-tower-spices-up-anniversary-with-giant-french-tickler/
March 28th, 2008 at 2:47 pmIt looks like a parasite that is invading the tower.
March 28th, 2008 at 3:26 pmIt’s hideous!!!!
It is utterly stupid to extend the structure out horizontally beyond the viewing platform. The view of the city will be totally obstructed, a pretty basic boo-boo functionally. And though it’s pretty on it’s own, I don’t think it is very harmonious with the existing tower.
March 28th, 2008 at 3:40 pmThank God this is temporary! Be wary though, these “temporary” things have the tendancy to become perminent. Here’s a couple of thoughts to consider. If it is the observation capacity that is the target of interest here, I wonder what this does to emergency egress?!? Let us also consider that the limited capacity of the observation deck does give an exclusive appeal to the Tower. Consider how many people would visit the Grand Canyon if we filled it in…after all, this would make it more accessible. Instead attaching this alien parasite to this historical world renowned masterpiece, they should build their own far away from the original…then watch how many people visit which tower. Perhaps we should design a tray for the Statue of Liberty to hold in lieu of a torch in order to provide a larger observation deck so that more visiters could be accomodated.
March 28th, 2008 at 6:22 pmThis was just a PR stunt by the design firm to get free PR worldwide, terrible way to do PR. You hurt all real stories this way. Go back into your caves,.
March 28th, 2008 at 6:50 pmNEWS UPDATE:
“David Serero, principal of Serero Architects, said in a telephone interview that his firm’s proposal was merely a spontaneous design it had submitted to the Eiffel Tower management group in view of the tower’s approaching 120th anniversary and, he said, was neither a response to a design competition nor solicited by the tower’s management.”
I knew it was probably too good (or at least too provocative) to be true.
March 28th, 2008 at 8:41 pmHow grand, they have successfully converted it to the Space Needle!
March 29th, 2008 at 4:26 pmVous parlez français? Non? Je suis parisienne, 14 ans (I’m a parisian myself, 14 years old). I think that “hat” looks really weird. You know, at first the parisians looked at that tower with great disgust, but then they accepted it, and now we like it, don’t we? Parisians don’t like anything new, especially weird things; I doubt this is as good an idea as you think it is. Whatever! Do what you want! I don’t find it especially nice, but I am a parisian! LOL.
March 30th, 2008 at 9:59 amVery bad thingy.
April 7th, 2008 at 8:45 amToda mudança independente do avanço que carreia em seu bojo tende a ser combatida SEMPRE; eis que, abandonada a fase nômade nos primórdios da civilização, o ser humano regalou-se num acomodatício sedentarismo, em todos os sentidos.
April 15th, 2008 at 2:15 pmCriou daí “anticorpos” naturais a tudo o que transpire alterações de rota (e ou de conduta) na manutenção de um pseudo-conforto simplista.
Ocorre que na natureza, em que pese o titânico esforço dos retrógrados e inquisidores de todos os tempos, - em especial nas religiões e totalitárias formas de pensar - tudo contradiz os “landmarks” da perenidade, implementando através da salutar oxigenação das mudanças o progresso e os avanços em todos os níveis de conhecimento.
Penso, que, dessa forma deva ser analisada essa proposta arquitetônica:
Como um ponto de partida de melhoria a um secular marco; de magistral importância e significado, mas, JAMAIS imune aos avanços constantes da civilização!