Lego Architecture Эйфелева башня (21019) [4/72] History

History

An early sketch of the Tower from circa 1884

Une esquisse préliminaire de la Tour datant de 1884 environ

In 1889 Paris hosted a World’s Fair to mark the 100-year anniversary of

the French Revolution. Three years before, an oﬃcial competition had

been launched to ﬁnd a suitable centerpiece for the exhibition. Gustave

Eiﬀel’s plan for a 985-foot (300-meter) tall iron tower was selected from

among the 107 diﬀerent projects submitted.

Two chief engineers from Eiﬀel’s company, Maurice Koechlin and Emile

Nouguier, had already been working on an idea for an iron tower since

1884. Their design was based on a large pylon with four columns of

latticework girders, separated at the base and coming together at the

top. The four columns would be joined together by metal girders at

regular intervals.

In order to make the proposed project more acceptable to public

opinion, Nouguier and Koechlin turned to the head of the company’s

architectural department, Stephen Sauvestre, and asked him to work

on the tower’s overall appearance.

Sauvestre proposed stonework

pedestals to dress the legs, and

added decorative arches to link

the columns at the ﬁrst level. He

also suggested a bulb-shaped

design for the top and various

other ornamental decorations,

but these were rejected to create

the simpliﬁed appearance we

recognize today.

While Gustave Eiﬀel believed

the structure would symbolize

“not only the art of the modern

engineer, but also the century of

Industry and Science in which we

are living,” the proposed tower

soon attracted criticism. Many of

the country’s leading art ﬁgures

campaigned against it, calling

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