Glass pyramid for Paris skyline

Following the lifting of a ban in July on high-rise projects in Paris, Switzerland-based architects Herzog & de Meuron have unveiled designs for a 50-storey, 180 m-tall tower, dubbed the Projet Triangle.

The Projet Triangle is expected to include offices, a conference centre and a 400-bed hotel, as well as restaurants, cafes and gardens. Its super-slim profile will cast virtually no shadow, and its orientation will allow it to take advantage of both solar and wind power.

Once completed in 2014 the Projet Triangle, which will be built in Porte de Versailles in the south of the French capital, will the third tallest building in Paris after the Eiffel Tower and the Montparnasse Tower.

It is the first of six high-rise developments planned for Paris following the city council's decision in July to end the ban on buildings taller than 37 m.

It is the first of six high-rise developments approved for construction in the city centre. New structures higher than 37 m were banned in the city centre in 1977 by the previous Mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac.

All images © Herzog & de Meuron.