The CMA CGM Tower is a tall

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...

in Euroméditerranée, the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, France. Designed by Zaha Hadid, it is the headquarters for CMA CGM, one of the world's major freight companies, hosting 2,200 employees in the office previously spread over seven sites. Zaha Hadid was selected to design the building in November 2004, and it became her first tower. It is intended to interact with other landmarks of the city including the Château d'If and the

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

Notre-Dame de la Garde Notre-Dame de la Garde (; : Titles of Mary, Our Lady of the Guard), known to local citizens as ''la Bonne Mère'' (French for 'the Good Mother'), is a Catholic Church, Catholic Basilicas in the Catholic Church, basilica in Marseille and the city ...

, which stands taller than the tower on a rocky outcrop. Built by Vinci subsidiary GTM Construction, the building has 20 lifts to service its 33 floors and was completed in September 2011.

History

The purpose of the Euroméditerranée public development establishment is to restructure several districts adjoining the port of Marseille, and the tower is the first major project on the site. Its construction was motivated by the former CEO of CMA CGM, Jacques Saadé, whose company found itself cramped in the building which today adjoins the tower and which was bought by the general council of

Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( ; , ; ; "the Mouths of the Rhône") is a Departments of France, department in southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var (department), Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the sout ...

. The construction work for this tower began in July 2006. The foundations were completed in March 2007; the foundation stone laying ceremony followed on the 23rd of that month. The core reached the 33rd and final floor at the end of June 2008. The concrete works were completed in October 2008; the end of work on the exterior facades took place in May 2009; and the end of the installation of the exterior coverings occurred in August 2009. The delivery of the building, initially planned for the third quarter of 2009, had been postponed to the fourth quarter of 2010. File:Tour CMA CGM de Marseille depuis endoume Sept 08.jpg, The tower under construction in 2008, seen from Endoume

References

External links

CMA CMG Press Information

CMA CGM Headquarters by Zaha Hadid photographed by Hufton+Crow

The CMA CGM Tower: a lighthouse for new shipping routes
Skyscraper office buildings in France Zaha Hadid buildings Postmodern architecture Modernist architecture in France Office buildings completed in 2011 21st-century architecture in France Buildings and structures in Marseille {{France-struct-stub