Gustave Eiffel's Business Model

Gustave Eiffel was born December 15th, 1832 in Dijon, France. He graduated from the École Polytechnique and later the École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, as a civil engineer and created a number of bridges for the French Railway Network. However, his name became known after becoming the main man in creating,designing, and constructing the Eiffel Tower.

Eiffel was the first born child of Alexandre Eiffel and Catherine-Melanie. While his Mother was a heiress to a charcoal company, his Father was a war veteran who worked as an administrator for the French army. However, after Gustave Eiffel was born, his father gave up his job to assist Catherine-Melanie. As a child, Eiffel was not studious, but was heavily influenced by his teachers and his uncle.

Originally, Eiffel was going to work with his uncle, however, Eiffel eventually got a job an engineering firm known as Compagnie des chemins de fer de l’Ouestan. While working at this firm, Eiffel met Charles Nepveu. Nepveu manufactured steam engines and railway equipment and was a member of the Society of Civil Engineering in France. Unfortunately, the firm filed for bankruptcy, leading Eiffel to his next job: head of Compagnie Belge de Materials de Chemin de Fer’s research department.

While working at this company, Eiffel designed his

A symbol of Paris, the structure stands at 985 feet in central Paris. After reviewing over 100 submissions for a centerpiece of Exposition Universelle in 1889, Eiffel’s proposal of a “metallic masterpiece” as stated by the judges (JSTOR). Although the idea of a metallic tower was common amongst the submissions, what was different was the volume and height of the tower. Despite its towering height, the tower was still constructed to withstand wind pressure. In fact, many critics still critic the size of the tower and call it unsafe. Once built, the Eiffel tower was the largest of structure for several