The building was designed in the Brutalist style by the Italian architect Raffaele Contigiani and built from 1970 to 1973 for the Tunisian government of Habib Bourguiba.

The interior décor reflected the 1970s, with floors covered by linoleum and a colour palette of brown, orange and red.

The striking design, departing from traditional Arab and European architecture, made the hotel a symbol of modernism in Tunis.

Its distinctive shape has prompted comparisons with the sandcrawler vehicle of the Star Wars films.

It was bought by the Libyan Arab Foreign Investment Company (LAFICO) in 2013, which proposed demolishing the building and spending up to $100m to replace it with a new five-star hotel tower.