Tours Duo are two skyscrapers designed by Jean Nouvel and located in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, on the edge of the ring road and Ivry-sur-Seine. The mixed-use project covers more than 108,000 m2. It mainly houses offices but also a hotel, a restaurant, a bar with a panoramic terrace overlooking Paris, an auditorium, shops, and green terraces.

Tours Duo project creates a singularity in relation to the rails that lead into the city’s heart and define the Avenue de France

The asymmetrical and slightly leaning towers with their reflective cladding stretch towards the sky, forming a V-shape

The French architect’s ability to inject his international image is captured by Paul Clemence in framing the open V of sunlight. The transverse fracture between the volumes is also a resource to preserve views of the Berliet industrial building, the French manufacturer of automobiles. The V composition marks a city landmark. Besides setting character in Eastern Paris, the Duo 1 tower is the third tallest building in Paris, after Tour Eiffel and Tour Montparnasse.

With their leaning stance, Jean Nouvel‘s Tours Duo suggests an asymmetrical V. The taller one of the two towers rises 180 meters (590 feet) and 39 stories while the other rises 122 meters (400 feet) and 27 stories. The architect crafts the towers with this unique expression, echoing that of SHoP Architects’ American Copper Buildings along New York City’s East River, which take shape with a similar gesture.

Paul Clemence’s pictures of the facade composition and their reflection reveal the singular beauty of the site

Paul Clemence’s lens gives context to the ambitious plan to reshape Paris. His pictures of the facade composition and their reflection reveal the singular beauty of the site. The photographs allow appreciation of the playful terraces and the intersection of the volumes.

Images by Paul Clemence