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Young World
DESIGN MARVEL
Towering presence
A. SRIVATHSAN
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The Eiffel Tower in Paris is one of the most visited monuments in the world, attracting six million visitors every year.
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Unique curvilinear shape: To take care of wind forces.
There are only a few structures in this world that has caught people’s imagination as the Eiffel Tower in Paris has. Paris has many important structures such as the Louvre and its glass pyramid, Notre Dam Church and Pompidou centre. But nothing matches the attention the Eiffel Tower gets. It is one of the most visited monuments in the world and attracts about six million visitors every year. Its initial reception was however hostile. When the tower was first proposed
, the design was found ugly and unacceptable. It faced stiff opposition from many including Guy Maupassant, the writer. Maupassant’s dislike for the tower is now legend. The story goes that Maupassant used to regularly visit the restaurant under the Eiffel. When quizzed, he replied that it is only from under that the writer can avoid looking at it. The rest of Paris, he meant, was dominated by the Eiffel tower visually and otherwise.
Commemoration
The tower was built to commemorate the centennial of the French revolution and also to coincide with the 1898 World Exposition. Eiffel’s design was chosen among 700 designs submitted. Though the tower is called Eiffel’s tower, historians point out that Eiffel actually had shown initial indifference to the design and it was his two engineers Emile Nougier and Maurice Kouchelien who were the principal people behind the idea.
The tower is 300 m in height and its unique curvilinear shape was meant to take care of the wind forces. Elevators took visitors to the upper levels and offered a panoramic view of the city. If the concept of the tower was bold, its construction technique and speed was impressive. The tower was put together with 18,000 separate steel pieces with 25,00,000 rivets. About 50 engineers, 100 iron workers and 120 site workers were involved in this endevaour. The tower was built in 27 months. When it was completed, it was the tallest structure in the world but was displaced from this rank in 1930 by the Chrysler tower in New York .
Between 1980 and 1985 a major restoration work was taken up. The tower is painted every seven years and that is not the only reason it continues to appeal to the ever growing number of visitors.
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