The Eiffel Tower
Arguably one of the world’s most recognisable landmarks, the Eiffel Tower is a celebration of science, engineering and art in unison
The Eiffel Tower was the brainchild of French structural engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, who proposed a 324-metre tower for the capital’s Champ de Mars, costing the city $1.5 million, for its World’s Fair. Work began in January 1887 and took two years to complete.
To begin with the framework was assembled in a factory, and in total about 300 workers joined 18,000 pieces of puddle iron to produce parts of the frame. When the parts were ready they were transported to the Champ de Mars, where welders secured each segment in place.