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Eiffel Tower to get a new look for its 120th anniversary

The elegant, tapering signature of the Eiffel Tower is to be reshaped, altering the Paris skyline, in time for the structure's 120th anniversary next year, the Societe d'exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (Sete) announced.

Serero Architects of Paris has won the competition to redesign the structure's public viewing platform and reception areas.

The winning design, which will be 276m above the ground, will not require any permanent modification of the existing structure.

It will double the capacity of the public viewing area on the tower's top floor.

The new platform will be bolted onto the tower using a web of Kevlar, an extremely strong and lightweight carbon fiber used in the construction of racing cars and body armor. The new platform will use a cantilevered design similar to the way that an aircraft's wings are attached to the fuselage.

The design is already causing controversy, with critics questioning the wisdom of tinkering with the famous silhouette and spending money on upgrading a tourist attraction that attracts 6.9 million visitors a year.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Sete said that the plan to restructure the top of the tower is in order to increase the quality of access. Average waiting times for the tower's elevators run at more than an hour at peak times.

Gustave Eiffel designed the tower as a temporary structure for the 1889 World's Fair. Initially rejected by the French public, it is now the most visited fee-charging monument in the world.
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