La Tour IBM-Marathon (IBM-Marathon Tower), also known as 1250 René-Lévesque, was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates for IBM Canada and Marathon Realty in 1992. At 199-meters and 47-stories, it is the second-tallest building in Montréal. Despite being 6-meters shorter than
1000 de La Gauchetière, it is built on higher ground and thus also reaches maximum height approved by the city--the elevation of Mont Royal.
The design, based on Frankfurt, Germany's Westendstraße 1, is partly dictated by the building's position at the western edge of the downtown core. The modern-style western facade, facing the residential periphery, is a straight granite-clad wall covered with square windows, with irregular setbacks creating the appearance of several superimposed slabs. The postmodern-style eastern façade, facing the commercial center, is dominated by an outwardly-curved glass curtain wall that extends past the southern edge, creating a suspended vertical "fin." The narrow north wall recesses in a series of setbacks, allowing the building to keep its human scale at street level. At the lowest setback, the 4-floor atrium includes a bamboo-planted winter garden, and a food court on a mezzanine. At the building top, a spire/antenna is integrated to the north walls of the last few floors and extends 31 metres beyond the mechanical penthouse above the 47th floor.
