The CMA CGM tower, the tallest building in Marseille

Built at the beginning of the 21st century to house the headquarters of one of the world’s largest shipping companies, the 147-metre CMA CGM Tower dominates the Marseille skyline. Its distinctive shape makes it one of the city’s most emblematic buildings.

An extraordinary architectural project

The CMA CGM Tower is a building of superlatives. Designed by the architect Zaha Hadid, whose work includes the National Museum of the Arts of the 21st Century (MAXXI) in Rome, its shape evokes the prow of a ship ploughing through the waters, in an aesthetic that refers directly to the CMA CGM shipping company behind the project.
The building is part of a deconstructivist style, characterised by the rejection of conventional forms and the use of a more fragmented approach. The asymmetrical façade, combining glass, concrete and steel, elegantly combines curves, straight lines and edges.
The tower has 33 storeys, all with comfortable ceiling heights of 2.80 metres, while the basements house a vast 5-level underground car park. 15 lifts, including 10 high-speed lifts, make it easy to move around the building.
The building has an impressive surface area of 64,000 m², 3.5 times that of Parc Borély! All the premises in the tower are occupied by CMA CGM, the world’s third largest shipping company, which employs nearly 160,000 people worldwide.
At 147 metres, it is the tallest building in Marseille. It could have been even more impressive, but then it would have exceeded the height of the hill of La Garde and would have stolen the show from Marseilles’ favourite basilica.

An emblematic building for the Euroméditerranée project

The CMA CGM Tower is part of the vast Euroméditerranée urban renewal project , launched in 1995 to transform Marseille’s northern waterfront. This ambitious programme aims to invent the sustainable Mediterranean city of the future in an area historically shaped by port activity, by equipping it with contemporary infrastructure, offices, housing and cultural facilities.
At the heart of this ambition, a modern and dynamic business district has emerged around the Docks de la Joliette and on the outskirts of Marseille’s major seaport. The CMA CGM tower is now one of the most visible symbols of this, and is the precursor of Marseille’s skyline, which will be completed by the La Marseillaise tower, the Porte Bleue, the Mirabeau tower and the M99 apartment block.
The area around the CMA CGM tower has undergone a profound transformation. The old docks, remnants of the city’s maritime past, have been restored to provide office space, restaurants and shops, while modern buildings and eco-districts have sprung up. The growth of the Cité de la Méditerranée and the success of the Les Terrasses du Port shopping centre confirm the growing appeal of this area.

A functional workplace for shipowner CMA CGM

An emblematic building in Marseille, the CMA CGM tower is above all a tertiary building designed to accommodate several thousand employees.

Jacques Saadé, former CEO of CMA CGM and main instigator of the project, wanted to create a real living space where his employees could meet and socialise. The tower houses a vast 190-seat auditorium in the basement, designed to host conferences, and an area dedicated to team training called “L’Academy”. The company restaurant, with its huge 800-seat refectory, has been designed as a real market. Various stands offer dishes inspired by different cultures. The CMA CGM tower also houses a medical centre, an inter-company crèche and several sports and fitness rooms.

The building reflects the economic power of one of the world’s largest shipping companies. The Boardroom, on the top floor, offers an exceptional view of the city. The tower is also home to a number of works of art, including two magnificent gold lacquered panels sculpted by Jean Dunand in 1935, entitled “Fishing” and “The conquest of the horse”. For the record, these two panels come from the first-class smoking room of the Normandie, one of the most prestigious transatlantic liners, which met a disastrous fate in 1942.

Looking to the future, the tower is also committed to an eco-responsible approach. In certain places, architect Zaha Hadid has doubled the wall to encourage the circulation of cooler air from the sea and reduce the use of air conditioning. The premises are heated and cooled using innovative marine geothermal technology, via the Thassalia network, which further reduces the building’s carbon footprint.

The CMA CGM Tower reflects the image of the city of Marseille: bold and conquering, turned towards the sea and its future!

Architecture in Marseille