1924.
Émile, a journalist at Le Petit Dauphinois, is sitting at his desk. He is researching Auguste Perret for his next article. He hopes to retrace how the architect came to build the tower.
Among the documents in his file, we see a portrait of the man and another of a woman Perret met in 1921: Marie Dormoy. As an art and literary critic, she quickly recognised the uniqueness of Perret's work and sought to promote it. By this time, Auguste Perret was already a renowned architect, known for his innovative and explicit approach: the 'order of concrete'. As Émile highlights, thinking aloud: he develops this material by emphasising its structure and avoiding unnecessary embellishment. Three projects are presented in sequence, painting a picture of the style and principles championed by Auguste Perret. A building on Rue Franklin, Paris's 16th arrondissement, in 1903. The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, 8th arrondissement, Paris, in 1913. And the Notre Dame Church of Le Raincy, in 1923, where concrete was used for the first time. In his imagination, Émile wanders through these places and uses the following terms to describe Perret's approach: robustness, durability and style. Following Marie Dormoy's advice, Auguste Perret took part in a conference on 5 July 1923, at the Grenoble School of Industrial Arts, during which he explained that in architecture 'three things must come together: strength, utility and beauty'. After this talk, his name gradually became known in Grenoble. With his growing reputation and distinctive style, he had all the hallmarks of a major architectural figure, and so was entrusted with the construction of the exhibition's observation tower. A commission in which he could express his 'order of concrete'.