Tours Société Générale

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Tours Société Générale (Alicante and Chassagne)

Location	La Défense (Nanterre)
Construction	1995
Use	Office
Height
Total	167 m (548 ft)
Roof	167 m (548 ft)
Technical Details
Floors	37
Floor space	125,000 m² (1.35 million ft²)
Architect	Michel Andrault, Pierre Parat

Société Générale twin towers are two office skyscrapers located in La Défense, the high-rise business district situated west of Paris, France. Their exterior designs are exactly identical.

The towers were built and opened in 1995 to become the headquarters of the Société Générale, one of France's largest banking groups. Before the twin towers were constructed, Société Générale's headquarters were located in the Tour Ariane, another of La Défense's skyscrapers.

The roof and structural height of both towers is at 167 m (548 ft) above ground. The towers were the tallest skyscrapers built in La Défense since the Tour Total in 1985. The northern tower is named tour Chassagne and the southern one tour Alicante. In its interior design, Chassagne is decorated with white stone from the village of Chassagne in Auvergne, whereas Alicante is decorated with red marble from Alicante in Spain. Both towers share the same platform and stand about 40 m (130 ft) apart. The roofs of the towers are sharply inclined.

Despite the large office space available in the current twin towers, Société Générale needed yet more space and so it launched the construction of a third skyscraper, the 183 m (600 ft) tall Tour Granite, which will stand immediately behind the twin towers. Tour Granite is currently under construction and should be opened in 2008.