The Central Téléphonique de la Défense is one of the business district's strategic buildings. With this mixed-use building, architect Jean de Mailly asserts his taste for plastic effect by covering the building with honeycomb aluminum caissons. The arched first floor disappears, leaving the building levitating.

Jean de Mailly is one of the chief architects responsible for the Bellini district. Born on February 13, 1911, he studied at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts and was awarded the first Grand Prix de Rome d'Architecture in 1945.

He developed a close working relationship with the builder Bouygues, with whom he completed a large number of architectural projects, particularly in the area. In 1968, he was elected a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts de l'Institut de France and made a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur et des Arts et Lettres.