The city of Paris has officially reinstated a rule that limits the height of new buildings in the French capital to 37 meters, or 12 storeys. Among the factors for the decision was the controversy surrounding the construction of the 180-meter-tall Tour Triangle, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, which began in 2021 after more than a decade of legal battles and backlash. The new urban planning regulation is introduced as part of Mayor Anne Hidalgo's Local Bioclimatic Urban Plan, which aims to reduce Paris' carbon emissions.
The maximum height limit of 37 meters, authorized in most parts of the city, dates back to 1977. The law was introduced during a period of fervent construction across the city, and in part as a reaction to the construction of Tour Montparnasse, an office tower designed by architects Eugène Beaudouin, Urbain Cassan, and Louis Hoym de Marien measuring 210 meters in height. In 2010, new urban planning regulation proposed by then-mayor Bertrand Delanoë overturned the legislation to raise the limit to allow for 50-meter-tall residential towers and 180-meter-tall office towers.
The controversial Tour Triangle began construction in 2021 after 12 years of legal battles and criticism and is set to be completed in 2026. The 42-storey pyramidal glass skyscraper is the first high-rise tower to be constructed within the boundaries of Boulevard Périphérique, the ring road that encircles central Paris, since Tour Montparnasse, which was completed in 1973. The building was heavily criticized for being out of scale with the rest of the city. When completed, the tower will become the third tallest building within Paris city limits, after the Eiffel Tower and Tour Montparnasse.
According to The Times, the new planning regulation was imposed under pressure from Mayor Hidalgo’s Green Party partner with the aim of reducing carbon emissions. The new Local Bioclimatic Urban Plan also encourages rehabilitation and transformations of existing buildings over the construction of new ones. Despite the limited height, Paris is one of the densest cities in Europe, making further densification efforts unreasonable, according to Mayor Hidalgo, as cited by 20 minutes.
Zoning laws and urban planning regulations are some of the main tools for controlling the image of cities, but they are also a point of controversy, as restrictive regulations can be seen as a hindrance to the development of the city. In 2021, Chinese authorities announced that buildings taller than 500 meters would no longer be approved, a radical change for the country which is home to 10 of the tallest 20 buildings in the world.
