The emergence in 1992 of a sphere next to the Grande Arche cube and facing the curves of the CNIT was a first in the history of La Défense. Intended to house a hemispheric screen cinema, the building also originally included a museum, a permanent automobile production exhibition, and entertainment and service areas.

Architects Philippe Chaix and Jean-Paul Morel competed in 1986 for the redevelopment of the CNIT, then in 1989 for the EDF tower. Here, they continue the research conducted by American Richard Buckminster Fuller on geodesic domes.

Now home to UGC Ciné Cité, the complex remains dominated by this unusual shape, which is 4 meters wider than the Parc de la Villette !