Eiffel Tower - Paris, France

What was the purpose of the Eiffel Tower's construction?

A competition for designs for a suitable monument was established when the French government was organizing the International Exposition of 1889 to commemorate the centenary of the French Revolution. More than 100 proposals were submitted, and the Centennial Committee chose Gustave Eiffel, a well-known bridge engineer. When it was finished, the Eiffel Tower served as the exposition's main entrance.

What is the meaning of the Eiffel Tower?

The Eiffel Tower was originally constructed as a gateway to the 1889 International Exposition and as a symbol of French industrial genius. Since since, it has come to symbolize Paris' particular personality. Its lights are also frequently turned on and off to reflect big world events.

What is the material used to construct the Eiffel Tower?

The Eiffel Tower is almost entirely built of wrought iron with open lattices. Gustave Eiffel designed a light and airy yet sturdy structure that foreshadowed a revolution in civil engineering and architectural design, based on his extensive knowledge of the behavior of metal arch and metal truss shapes under loading.

                        The Eiffel Tower, or Tour Eiffel in French, is a Parisian landmark as well as a technological marvel in the history of building construction. A competition for designs for a suitable monument was established when the French government was organizing the International Exposition of 1889 to commemorate the centenary of the French Revolution. More than 100 proposals were submitted, with the famed bridge architect Gustave Eiffel's plan being accepted by the Centennial Committee. Eiffel's plan for a 300-meter (984-foot) tower made almost completely of open-lattice wrought iron elicited awe, skepticism, and some aesthetic resistance. When built, the tower served as the exposition's main entrance.

Nothing had ever been erected quite like the Eiffel Tower; it stood twice as tall as the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome or the Great Pyramid of Giza. Unlike other older monuments, the tower was built in just two years (1887–89), with a small labor force and at a low cost. Eiffel built a light, airy, but powerful structure that foreshadowed a revolution in civil engineering and architectural design, based on his extensive knowledge of the behavior of metal arch and metal truss shapes under loading. It ultimately vindicated itself aesthetically once it opened to the public on May 15, 1889.

The Eiffel Tower is supported by four lattice-girder piers that taper inward and connect to form one huge vertical tower. The piers are joined to each other as they curve inward by two-level networks of girders that provide viewing platforms for tourists. The four semicircular arches at the base of the tower, on the other hand, are simply decorative and serve no structural use. The piers required elevators to ascend on a curve because of their distinctive shape, which was driven partially by engineering reasons but also by Eiffel's artistic sensibility; the glass-cage machines constructed by the Otis Elevator Company of the United States became one of the building's main highlights.

The tower stands at a height of 300 meters (984 ft). It stands on a 5 meter (17 foot) high foundation, with a television antenna atop the tower, giving it a total height of 324 meters (1,063 feet). Until the Chrysler Building in New York City was completed in 1929, the Eiffel Tower was the world's highest skyscraper.

360 view o Eiffel Tower

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