"Nunc turpis nulla, faucibus et, placerat nec, adipiscing ut, odio. Aenean quis dolor. Nam egestas. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci"

Representatives of the largest business districts in the world, from all continents, met at the beginning of February at La Défense after invitation from the EPAD during the fi rst world sustainable-development summit.

This very high-level meeting highlighted numerous lessons for considering the future by the yardstick of the requirement to respect the environment and improve the quality of life.

All insisted on the necessity of establishing diversity of use. We are delighted at this.

Firstly, because La Défense has this principle in its very design and has now added 600,000m² of accommodation and 250,000m² of shops and services to its three million m² of offices.

But also because in the specifi cations for the Tour Signal, the symbol of our revived ambition, we imposed a requirement for diversity, bringing together offi ces, shops, accommodation, services and leisure, all in the same building.

For the fi rst time in Europe, we are going to achieve this. The largest investors have agreed to commit to this project, which imposes heavy restrictions on them, both technical and economic.

The State’s ambition with this renovation plan is to put La Défense back at the head of international competition in business districts, particularly in terms of modernity.

The Tour Signal is a major step in making this challenge a success.


Bernard BLED
Managing Director of EPAD