Like the Michelet Tower, the Minerve residence seems out of step with its time. The 1980s were marked by the abandonment of the megastructures and “proliferating” architecture of the 1960s. Small-scale developments were also out of fashion in La Défense.

However, Luc and Xavier Arsène-Henry decided to focus on small-scale developments. The residence has more than 500 dwellings. Composed of three buildings with a three-wing layout, it offers terraces on its upper floors. Inside, each apartment has open-plan, adaptable partitions.

The white cement concrete facades are decorated with fluting to ensure rainwater drainage.

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

They designed several residential, office, and administrative buildings and established themselves in Paris, Nîmes, and Bordeaux. In 1967, they built the Chartis Tower in La Défense, in association with Bernard Schoeller. This was followed by the Galion and the Minerve residential building.