To be completed in 2014 in the Port de Versailles area in Paris, France, the Le Project Triangle building will reign supreme over Paris’s skyline.  On one side, it looks like an upgrade of a pyramid we’d find in Egypt, but on the other, the building looks like an extremely skinny triangle.

The design by Herzog & de Meuron is said to also allow to “optimum solar and wind power generation.”  Neat, right?  It sounds as good as it looks, so check out the pics below.

Images and Press Release after the jump

Le Project Triangle in Paris:

Le Projet Triangle, Porte de Versailles
Paris, France
2006 –, planned completion 2014

“Le Projet Triangle” is primarily perceived on the metropolitan scale of the city of Paris. Its elevated stature will lend major visibility to the Porte de Versailles and the Parc des Expositions site within the overall conurbation. It will also permit its integration in the system of axes and perspectives that constitute the urban fabric of Paris.

On the scale of the Porte de Versailles site, the project will also play a significant role in the reorganization of flows and perception of urban space. The Parc des Expositions site currently forms a break between the Haussmanian fabric of the 15th district of Paris and the communities of Issy-les-Moulineaux and Vanves, emphasised by the visual impact of the peripheral boulevard.

The construction of an ambitious building on the Porte de Versailles site will mark its opening and restore the historical axis formed by the rue de Vaugirard and avenue Ernest Renan.

The square of the Porte de Versailles is a complex space in its current configuration. Its initial semi-circular organisation is difficult to interpret given the many visual impediments and lack of clearly identified public spaces between the Parc des Expositions and the buildings opposite.

Building on the square itself would intensify this problem of perception: our project therefore proposes to free this space by positioning itself along the avenue Ernest Renan.

This move offers three major advantages :

it permits the creation of a public square between the boulevard Victor and Hall 1 of the Parc des Expositions, by reorganising logistic flows.
It creates a strong link between what are known as the “petit” and “grand” parcs, the two parts of the Parc des Expositions.
It marks the Paris / Issy-les-Moulineaux axis, allowing the urban space to cross the peripheral boulevard by activating the entire facade of the avenue Ernest Renan.
Situated along the avenue, the project is located at the heart of the Parc des Expositions site, set back from the surrounding residential areas. Its volumetry also takes into account the impact of a high building on its environment. Its triangular shape actually means that it does not cast shadows on adjacent buildings. The environmental approach of the project is also perceptible in this simple, compact volumetry which limits its ground impact and allows the optimum utilisation of solar and wind power due to its excellent positioning.

Apart from its structural and technical qualities, the filigree, crystalline nature of the project permits its integration in the system of perspectives formed by the Hausmannian axes. This dialogue with the city is not however limited to its silhouette, but also defines the internal organisation and texture of the project.

The Triangle is conceived as a piece of the city that could be pivoted and positioned vertically. It is carved by a network of vertical and horizontal traffic flows of variable capacities and speeds. Like the boulevards, streets and more intimate passages of a city, these traffic flows carve the construction into islets of varying shapes and sizes.

This evocation of the urban fabric of Paris, at once classic and coherent in its entirety and varied and intriguing in its details, is encountered in the façade of the Triangle. Like that of a classical building, this one features two levels of interpretation: an easily recognisable overall form and a fine, crystalline silhouette of its façade which allows it to be perceived variously.

This “vertical city” district stands in close relation to its environment and is accessible to a highly diverse public. Taking up the analogy of urban squares, it offers each individual the opportunity to enter a complex of spaces open to all on its levels.

The base of the project is open to all, from the square of the Porte de Versailles and along the avenue Ernest Renan which regains the appearance of a Parisian street, with its shops and restaurants. An elevated square, on level with the roofs of Paris, will offer everyone a unique view of the district and the whole city. This visit might then be extended in the higher reaches of the Triangle, from where the entire metropolis can be discovered.

The Triangle will thus become one of the scenes of metropolitan Paris. It will not only be a landmark from which the urban panorama can be viewed, but also an outstanding silhouette in the system of axes and monuments of the city.

Herzog & de Meuron, 2008

Bentley is saying goodbye to a car that’s reigned infamous for 10 years. The Arnage Series is going into its final production run of 150 units, labeled the Bentley Arnage Final Series.  These will not be your ordinary Arnages of course.  It’s going to be unveiled at the Paris Auto Show.

The Bentley Arnage Final Series can be easily distinguished by the 20-inch 5-spoke alloy wheels, Le Mans lower front wing air vents, body-colored front and rear lamp bezels, a jewel fuel filler cap and ‘Final Series’ wing badges and polished stainless steel treadplates to on the front doors.

Bentley will also be celebrating 50 years of its V8 engine.  The 500-hp V8 engine has a maximum torque of 738 lb-ft. and goes 0 to 62 mph in 5.2 and tops out at 179 mph.  Check out the images below and head to eGMCarTech for more images and the official press release.

images after the jump

Bentley Arnage Final Series:

Source: eGMCarTech

The guys over at Lamborghini are really wearing this out.  The first teaser had us at the edge of our seats and the second one had us drooling a little.  But this third teaser is just too much, no?  If you’re going to do all that, you might as well release official pics of the whole damn car.

We’re not saying that we’re going to let you guys know if another teaser image were to come out, but just know that we aren’t going to be happy doing it. For anyone that hasn’t seen the first two, check out the trio of pics below.

Amnesia be-gone:  The Urus will be a front-engine sedan built on a four-wheel drive architecture. Power could come from a smaller Audi-supplied direct-injection, twin-turbocharged engine than Lamborghini’s already smallest 5.0L V10. It’s being built to compete with Aston Martin’s Rapide and Porsche’s Panamera.

images after the jump

Teaser images of new Lamborghini being unveiled in Paris:

Source: eGMCarTech

It’s definitely a whole new world for Lamborghini.  They released two different teasers in the past week or so and now they’ve come out with it.  Automotive News Europe’s learned that the company will be unveiling a four-door coupe to rival Porsche’s Panamera and Aston Martin’s Rapide.

Sources said that the third model in the Lamborghini lineup will be a front-engine sedan built on a four-wheel drive architecture. Power could come from a smaller Audi-supplied direct-injection, twin-turbocharged engine than Lamborghini’s already smallest 5.0L V10.

It’s being named “Urus,” a Latin word with Germanic origins used to describe a very large type of cattle prevalent in Europe until their extinction in 1627.  That’s pretty interesting considering Lamborghini’s German-owned now.

No word on when we’ll see the big cow hit the production line, but they’ll be producing 3,000 annually, which is less than the 20,000 Panameras we’ll be seeing.  Aston Martin’s hoping to produce 3,000 Rapides annually as well.

Source:  eGMCarTech

Another teaser image has been released by Lamborghini earlier about the new car they’re set to release in two weeks at the 2008 Paris Auto Show.  Does this help you make a decision on what the car could be?  This image had the same press release attached to it as the first one.  It read “It’s not just a new Lamborghini.  It’s a new world.”

Images after the jump

New Lamborghini being unveiled at 2008 Paris Auto Show:

Source: eGMCarTech

Telegraph is reporting that starting next month, Sete, the company subcontracted by Paris to run the tower, is going to cut the time the bulbs are on by 50 percent, cutting illumination from 400 to 200 hours per year.

Since January 1, 2000, every hour after dusk, the 20,000 bulbs twinkle brilliantly for ten minutes, making the Tower’s “diamond dress” illuminate for miles.  They were turned on for the mark of the new millenium, but once those lights came on, it became such an attraction that the city decided to keep them on.

The decision is part of a plan to make the Eiffel tower and other monuments more environmentally friendly. Tickets and documents in the tower are made of recycled paper, and management claims that all the electricity used comes from renewable sources. It is currently studying a plan to put solar panels on the roof of its restaurants.

Source:  Telegraph