Eiffel Tower Redesign Story False

PARIS—Serero Architects's proposal to redesign the Eiffel Tower was an unsolicited plan — not the winner of a competition sponsored by the Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel, as was originally reported. David Serero, principal of the firm, told the New York Times that the company spontaneously submitted the designs in light of the tower's upcoming 120th anniversary and put them on the Web.

The Guardian's Web site announced on March 24 that the redesign had been approved by the Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel, and other news organizations picked up the story. The management company has said that it does not have any plans to alter the tower.