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Tour Espacité

From: La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland

photo The Espacité Tower offers panoramic views from a 14th-floor observatory (inset below).

photo

The Tour Espacité, or Espacité Tower, is the centerpiece of a downtown multi-use project on the Place Le Corbusier in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.

The building, designed by architects Jacques Richter and Ignacio Dahl Rocha of Lausanne, is 60 meters or 179 feet high and was completed in 1994.

The Espacité Tower should be your first stop on any visit to La Chaux-de-Fonds, if only because the Tourist Office is on the ground floor. Pick up a map, brochures about local attractions, and La Chaux-de-Fonds on Foot, a free illustrated guide to the city's architectural treasures.

After visiting the tourist office, take the free lift to the 14th-floor observatory. (You'll also find a café where you can get drinks or snacks at reasonable prices.) When you've had a chance to orient yourself to the city from the viewing platform, you can ride the elevator back to ground level or--better yet--take the glassed-in staircase, which offers constantly changing perspectives on the walk down.

Next page: Views from the Espacité Tower


Related articles:
La Chaux-de-Fonds
La Maison Blanche - Le Corbusier, 1912
La Villa Turque - Le Corbusier, 1917
Théâtre and Salle de Musique L'heure Bleu

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