Marseille, France – 31 July 2018
After three and a half years of work, La Marseillaise Tower will be delivered on July 31, in the heart of the Euroméditerranée district of Marseille. The building, which is the tallest of the Les Quais d’Arenc development, features a multi-colored façade that reflects the sunlight.
Light and transparent, the Ateliers Jean Nouvel-designed tower appears to blend in with the landscape and the horizon thanks to its 30 shades of blue, white, and red. This effect, which changes according to the point of view, is produced by 3,850 multicolored brise-soleil screens made of ultra-high-performance concrete, which cover the 16,000 square meters of the glass façade. These sunscreens not only filter light rays to protect the building from heat; they also reduce the sensation of height for tower occupants.
The entire surface of the building is certified to the HQE Excellent, RT 2012 and LEED Gold standards. It aims to achieve environmental excellence due to an innovative sea-water-powered heating system, which limits its environmental footprint and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent.
Facing the sea, the tower rises 135 meters, positing it as the second tallest building in the city after the neighboring Tour CMA-CGM. The building has 31 levels, including 27 office floors. Ninety-five percent of the workstations will have a view of the sea. The ground floor hall welcomes visitors with green terraces, retail, and 15 elevators to access the upper floors.
Launched at the end of 2014, the project required an investment of 200 million euros ($234 million). The tower is an architectural and technical feat, with its mixed concrete-steel structure surrounding a reinforced concrete core. It is anchored on 85 reinforced concrete piles up to 1.5 meters in diameter and 33 meters in depth.
The completed project offers 35,000 square meters of offices and 5,000 square meters dedicated to services including a nursery, inter-company restaurant, business center, collaborative spaces, event center, concierge and local shops. The tower will accommodate 2,500 people.
Among its first tenants, the metropolitan government of Aix-Marseille Provence will occupy 12 floors (from the 4th to the 15th) representing 15,912 square meters of offices. For the time being, eight other tenants will share the sea view: Orange (from the 20th to the 23rd floors), the Constructa group, the contractor of the project (27th), CEPAC Caisse d'Epargne, one of the investors in the project (24 and 25th), the World Trade Center Marseille Provence (9th and 30th), Haribo France (17 and half of the 18th), Sodexo France (19th), Swiss Life REIM, and the SNEF group.
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