The Exaltis Tower is a new 15-story office building with a 3-level underground parking garage in the La Defense District in Paris. This development completes the axis of the Avenue Gambetta. Conceived as a tower of glistening glass, Exaltis defines the axis of the avenue and replaces a grim, gray viaduct. The tower is flanked on one side by a landscaped plaza and on the other by a linear park.

Along the avenue, a monumental glass wall is modulated by the regular cadence of tall slender circular columns that march along the facade and act as oversized lanterns. Across from them, along the core, two curved surfaces, one in frosted glass and the other in black granite, meet at a midpoint. An exquisite two-level lobby receives visitors. This lobby stretches the entire length of the building. Grand stairs connect the two levels establishing a sculptural presence.

In form, the firm’s building design is a rectangular prism modified and sculpted by the introduction of two curves along its short facades. These curving surfaces transform the rigid rectangles into a fluid form. The result is a building with dynamic quality, implying horizontal movement along the axis of the avenue, as if sailing towards the esplanade propelled by an imaginary force.

Because Bouygues was both the developer and contractor for this project, the delivery method applied was most similar to that of a traditional design build project in the United States.