Although some Venetians have complained about his proposed skyscraper, Pierre Cardin says he is determined to build the tower. The fashion mogul has opened an exhibit featuring the proposed 800-foot tall design at the Venice Biennale.

Mr. Cardin was unprepared for the strength of the negative opposition, his nephew told the Associated Press. When he first proposed the building, he planned to invest US$1.68 billion of his own money to bring the project to reality.

Find a previous CTBUH story on the Palais de Lumiere here.

The proposed EUR2.4 billion (US$3 billion) project has been met with everything from healthy skepticism to open ridicule, according to the Washington Post. One Italian architect put it simply: "If you want to do something for Venice, do something else."