Stephen Sauvestre: The Aesthetic Vision

The tower might have remained a purely functional structure without Stephen Sauvestre, Eiffel's chief architect. Born in 1847 to a family of decorative artists, Sauvestre understood that for the tower to win public acceptance, it needed to be more than an engineering marvel—it needed soul.

Sauvestre's additions transformed Koechlin's stark mathematical pylon into something that could capture imagination. The decorative arches between the legs served no structural purpose but created visual harmony. The first-floor gallery with its names of scientists gave the tower cultural weight. The cupola at the top provided a sense of completion, preventing the structure from appearing unfinished.

"Stephen saw what others missed," his widow later wrote. "He said the tower must speak to poets as well as engineers, to children as well as scientists. Every curve, every detail was designed to delight."