A 300-metre high tower was to be the highlight of the 1889 Exposition Universelle. The selected project was presented by the contractor Gustave Eiffel, the engineers Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier and the architect Stephen Sauvestre. The legs of the tower were clad with masonry bases and the uprights were connected by large arches. Eighteen thousand metal parts were designed, manufactured and assembled in the Eiffel workshops in Levallois-Perret. 2,500,000 rivets had to be hot welded. The foundations were completed in 5 months and the Eiffel Tower was finished in 26 months. The Exposition Universelle had its marvel and Paris its symbol.