The first private project in the business district, the Tour Blanche was originally part of a program of 21 identical office towers. A constraint which, according to the two white cement experts - the Arsène-Henry brothers - hinders the expression of their know-how. In response, they designed a deliberately thick facade made of white concrete columns, leaving little glazed surface area - only 40%. The design echoes that of the Monde Vivant collective of architects and sculptors, founded in 1965.

To contrast with the austerity of the exterior, the architects called on decorators and artists, including sculptor Francesco Marino Di Teana, to design the interior. The interior also includes a gym, sauna and several lounges for relaxation and music.

Graduates of the Beaux-Arts de Paris, Luc (1924-1998) and Xavier (1919-2009) Arsène-Henry enjoyed a distinguished career until the 1980s. The brothers made their name in 1953 with the Franciscan monastery La Clarté-Dieu in Orsay. The building was designed in white cement concrete, a material that quickly became their trademark.

They went on to design a number of residential, office and administrative buildings in Paris, Nîmes and Bordeaux. In 1967, they built Le Galion in La Défense, in association with Bernard Schoeller. Le Galion and the Minerve apartment building followed.