A First Look At the Tallest Building in Paris

Tour FIRST, the tallest skyscraper in Paris at 758 feet, reopened in May after a four-year renovation by architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF). The firm dismantled the exterior and increased the height of the building by approximately 50 feet for a total of 50 floors of office and restaurant space. The building is located in La Défense, a financial district in the outskirts of the city.

The Tour FIRST building—previously named for insurance companies UAP and AXA—opened in 1974 and was designed by French architect Pierre Dufau. The updated building retains the skeleton of the original, which was designed as a three-pronged structure joined at the center. Built of glass and metal, the energy-efficient exterior now is topped off by a swirling spire.

KPF’s recent projects include London’s Heron Tower (755 feet) and Hong Kong’s International Commerce Centre (1,588 feet), which currently reigns as the fourth tallest building in the world. Both projects were completed in 2010.

KPF circulated photos of the completed Tour FIRST building this week, shot by architectural photography firm Hufton + Crow: