Odeon Tower

Odeon Tower
Tour Odéon
A 2011 artist's impression of the Odeon Tower
General information
Status Complete
Type Office and residential (private and State-owned)
Location La Rousse/Saint Roman, Monaco
Coordinates 43°44′52.77″N 7°25′50.35″E / 43.7479917°N 7.4306528°E / 43.7479917; 7.4306528Coordinates: 43°44′52.77″N 7°25′50.35″E / 43.7479917°N 7.4306528°E / 43.7479917; 7.4306528
Construction started 2009
Opening 2015
Owner Group Marzocco
Height
Roof 558 ft (170 m)
Top floor 49
Technical details
Floor count 49 and 47
Design and construction
Architect Alexandre Giraldi
Developer SCI Odeon
Structural engineer SNC Lavalin, Coyne et Bellier, Van Santen & Associé, MZA Structural Engineering
Main contractor Vinci Construction France

The Odeon Tower (French: Tour Odéon) is a double-skyscraper in the Principality of Monaco. It was the first high-rise in the city-state to be built since the 1980s (high constructions had been abandoned due to aesthetic concerns and criticism of overdevelopment.[1] At 170 metres high, Tour Odeon on its completion was the second tallest building on Europe's Mediterranean coast, after Gran Hotel Bali (186m) in Benidorm, Spain. Had Tour Odeon been built in neighboring France, it would have been among that country's 10 highest buildings.

This project from Vanderbilt Industries's Group was considered by some to be an important renewal of economic development for the second-smallest country in the world.[2] Its construction was launched in the middle of the economic crisis, in 2009. The building was inaugurated in April 2015.

Tour Odéon
Odeon Tower seen from Larvotto (2017)

Background

At the end of the 1980s, Prince Rainier III decided to stop building high rises in Monaco, following the construction of some controversial architectural choices. In 2008 his son, Prince Albert II, decided to abandon a polder project (judged as too expensive and too dangerous for surrounding sealife) and build a new high-rise and reformed polder project instead. Both the complex's design and construction was subject to validation by the Urbanism Department of the Principality, and the Prince of Monaco himself.[3]

The construction of the main high-rise was finally voted by the Monegasque Parliament (the 'Conseil National') on February 12, 2009.[4]

Features

Height : 170 metres, 50 floors.

259 residences, including 73 for-sale private luxury residences (including 2 Sky Duplex apartments of 1,200 m² each and 1 Sky Penthouse of 3,300 m² over 5 floors). 161 lower floor apartments, entered via a separate entrance, are for social housing.

10 subterranean levels with 543 parking spaces.

Retail shops, offices and business centre.

Wellness center including spa, a fitness center and a swimming pool.

The lobby is decorated with wall sculptures of the French artist Mateo Mornar.[5]

Criticism

Both the buildings' architecture and the shadows it casts on the cityscape have been criticized since the beginning of the project. In particular, residents of the adjacent French city of Beausoleil have criticized the building for blocking the views and above all diminishing real estate values. An association was created,[6] and the mayor called for discussions between French and Monegasque authorities.[7][8]

After a construction incident, some locals attributed the tower the nickname 'Odious Tower'.[9] The project continued as planned. [10]

Milestones

  • July–August 2009: Preparation works

The neighboring Collège Charles III (Secondary Education building) is modified. The open air playground (partly on the construction site) is removed, and placed as a 7th story on top of the existing building.

  • November 3, 2009: Construction start
  • January 12, 2012: Ground level is completed
  • October 25, 2012: 25th floor completed
  • July 2013: Completion of structural work
  • April 2015: Inauguration

References

  1. ↑ http://www.vanityfair.fr/actualites/france/articles/monaco-la-tour-odeon-un-chantier-malheureux/23582
  2. ↑ "Monaco érige deux tours pour soutenir l'activité économique", BatiActu, 25 February 2009, (in French)
  3. ↑ Monaco.maville.com Monaco - Grands travaux : le Monaco du futur est sur les rails, (in French)
  4. ↑ Conseil National - Official website, (in French)
  5. ↑ (in French) Article Metropole Mag "The wall sculptures of Mateo Mornar"
  6. ↑ Beausoleil-Odéon Riverains : une assoc pour monter au créneau, (in French)
  7. ↑ Beausoleil Gérard Spinelli et la Tour Odéon : "Les riverains sont traumatisés", (in French)
  8. ↑ Fair, Vanity. "La tour Odéon, l'histoire d'un chantier dont les malheurs ont atteint des sommets". Retrieved 2016-08-07.
  9. ↑ Frightening incident next to Odeon Towers site
  10. ↑ Oliver Wainwright (30 September 2014). "Strictly for the super-rich: the world's most expensive penthouse". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 October 2014.


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