< PreviousDesired objects commercialinteriordesign.com March 2022 50 N icknamed in its home country as 'La dame de fer' (French for 'Iron Lady'), the Eiffel Tower was constructed as the centrepiece of the 1889 International Exposition, a forerunner to today's Expos, by noted bridge engineer Gustave Eiffel. His design was selected from more than 100 plans submitted to a competition to design a monument marking the centenary of the French Revolution. It was co-designed by Maurice Koechlin, Emile Nouguier, with the assistance of Stephen Sauvestre, all of whom worked for Eiffel at the time. Conceived in 1884, construction of the tower began in 1887 and involved some 50 engineers, 100 iron workers, and 121 construction workers. Amazingly the entire building project was completed in just over 2 years and there was only one health and safety death – said to be thanks largely to Eiffel's strict safety precautions. When completed, the tower served as the dramatic entrance gateway to the exposition grounds. Now one of the most recognisable structures in the world and considered a masterpiece of 19th century architecture, the 324 metre tower was initially criticised by some of France's leading artists and intellectuals for its design. The wrought iron of the Eiffel Tower weighs 7,300 tonnes and the addition of lifts, shops and antennae have brought the total weight to approximately 10,100 tonnes. The tower stands on four lattice- The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France Gustave Eiffel's wrought iron lattice tower was completed & inaugurated in March 1889 Photo credit: Gurgen Bakhshetyan for Shutterstock girder piers that taper inward and join to form a single large vertical tower. As they curve inward, the piers are connected to each other by networks of girders at two levels that afford viewing platforms for tourists. By contrast, the four semicircular arches at the base are purely aesthetic elements that serve no structural function. When originally built, the fi rst level of the tower contained three restaurants – one French, one Russian and one Flemish — and an 'Anglo-American Bar.' At the top, there was a small apartment reserved for Gustave Eiffel to entertain guests, which is now open to the public. The tower remains the tallest building in Paris and still receives nearly seven million visitors annually.FOR SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES, CONTACT: FIT OUT PARTNER Rebecca Lockwood Sales Director +971 55 484 8301 +971 4 444 3268 Email: rebecca.lockwood@itp.com PLUG INTO POWER www.commercialinteriordesign.com/CIDsummit TOP INDUSTRY FIGURES DEBATE THE ISSUES YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT GROSVENOR HOUSE, DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES THURSDAY, 31 MARCH, 2022 PANELS SILVER SPONSORA NEW ERA OF INSPIRATION FOR INDOOR AND OUTDOOR KITCHEN SPACES Visit our showroom on Umm Suqeim Street Dubai, UAE +971 4 7181754 • info@sanipexgroup.com www.sanipexgroup.com Next >