Tour Part-Dieu 2.61

The Tour Part-Dieu is a skyscraper in Lyon, France. The building is 164.9m tall, in La Part-Dieu district, with 42 floors. The building was completed in 1977. It currently stands as the ninth-tallest building in France. The top 10 floors are occupied by Radisson Blu Hotel Lyon, the highest hotel in Europe. The other floors are offices.It is a work of the American firm Araldo Cossutta & Associates and the construction occurred between 1972 and 1977. According to the wishes of the architect, the roof of this tower is roughly the same height as Notre Dame de Fourviere. At the opening in 1977, it was the 4th tallest building in France. The tower has a cylindrical shape. It is topped by a 23-metre high pyramid.On the occasion of its 31st anniversary, the tower changed its name and logo. On September 22, 2008, the building was officially renamed Tour Part Dieu.The tower is fondly named Le Crayon by the Lyonnese due to its shape, and the new logo includes this nickname.The tower is served by the Gare Part-Dieu – Vivier Merle station on the metro line.HistoryAs part of the implementation of Part-Dieu central business district, it was decided to build an office tower to "signal the presence of the district" and "materialize the virtual axis composition that is imagines extended east to Skyscraper of Villeurbanne". The tower was inaugurated in 1977. This construction has proved disastrous economically and hindered the development of the whole area during the ten years since its inauguration.