Torre Glòries
| Torre Glòries | |
|---|---|
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| Basic data | |
| Place: | Barcelona , Catalonia |
| Construction time : | 2001-2004 |
| Opening: | June 2005 |
| Status : | Built |
| Architect : | Jean Nouvel, b720 Fermin Vazquez Arquitectos |
| Use / legal | |
| Usage : | Office / from 2015 hotel |
| Client : | Grupo Agbar |
| Technical specifications | |
| Height : | 142 m |
| Height to the top: | 144.44 m |
| Height to the roof: | 128.3 m |
| Depth: | 18.40 m |
| Floors : | 32 |
| Elevators : | 11, 2 of them in the basement |
| Usable area : | 39,000 m² |
| Building material : | Aluminum glass concrete |
| Building-costs: | 132,000,000 € |
The Torre Glòries ( Catalan for "Glories Tower", formerly Torre Agbar ) in Barcelona is a 32-story office complex on Avinguda Diagonal , right next to Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes . The concrete high-rise with a glass-aluminum facade has a usable area of 39,000 m² and, at 142 meters, is one of the tallest buildings in Catalonia. In its external shape, it is similar to the 30 St Mary Ax office building, which was erected around the same time in London .
facade
With its dazzling 16,000 m² façade, the tower looks like a water fountain, whereby the initially rather dark blue disappears into a white up to the top. The aluminum outer skin looks like the skin of a reptile. Viewed from a distance, it looks like a liquid or organic mass. 40 different paint colors were used for the surface, which changes its color depending on the daylight. A glass skin consisting of 56,000 lamellas was drawn over the facade. Each of these glass slats has a size of 120 cm × 30 cm and is aligned at a certain angle, there are a total of 16 different positions. Hence the different color reflections. At the same time, this type of facade provides ideal protection from the sun. In total, the tower has 4,349 openings - covered by 4,500 windows - which are arranged at irregular intervals to achieve the shimmering effect, a total of 40 different colors adorn the building.
The actual dome does not begin until the 15th floor; underneath, the building runs fairly vertically, but it is not a cylinder, as the floor plan of the building deviates slightly from the circle and is therefore an oval . The floors above floor 26 are already part of the upper dome.
In addition to 59,619 transparent and partially translucent glass plates, 250 tons of aluminum and 25,000 m³ of concrete were used only for the construction of the facade .
At night, the tower is illuminated in color by 4,500 LED projectors from the Barcelona company Lightled (product type: Eos).
Interior of the building
Since the solar radiation in Barcelona is comparatively strong and it would therefore be disadvantageous to mount the offices directly on the outer skin facade, most of the rooms are located in the inner concrete core of the building. In contrast to the predominantly blue outer skin, the color red dominates inside the tower.
The Torre Agbar has a total of 34 floors above ground: 28 for offices and one for a cafeteria, one for a multi-purpose hall, one for the viewing platform and three for technical installations. The clear height of the floors is 2.6 meters, plus a 15 centimeter high “technical floor”. The four underground floors are divided into two parking floors and an auditorium with 316 seats. There are eleven elevators in the building, one of which is reserved for building maintenance and two more are intended for the underground floors. As a special feature, some elevators on the south facade are made of glass, so that you can look out through the glass facade while driving.
Planning, construction and builders
The building owner, Grupo Agbar , is the waterworks of Barcelona ( Ag uas de Bar celona, in Catalan Aigües de Barcelona ), hence the dazzling and colorful design of the high-rise. The immediate vicinity of the building was designed in such a way that the viewer has the impression that the tower stands in the middle of a water surface. In fact, Grupo Agbar only uses about half of the building.
The Torre Agbar was planned by the French architect Jean Nouvel . Nouvel also included the ideas of the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí , who died in 1926, in the planning . The tower is supposed to be a homage to Gaudí, which is why Nouvel made sure that the Torre Agbar was not higher than the Sagrada Família , also located in Barcelona, in the (future) finished state.
Construction work began in February 2001, with 500 to 600 workers working on the construction site every day so that a floor could be completed approximately every five days. The tower was completed in the first half of 2004; However, it did not reach its final structural height until October 19, 2004. The inauguration took place on September 16, 2005, which was also attended by the King and Queen of Spain.
Sale and conversion to a luxury hotel
In August 2014, the former user, Grupo Agbar and the investor group Emin Capital, announced that the Torre Agbar would be sold to the American Hyatt hotel chain for a rumored purchase price of around 150 million euros . This is planning to open a new five-star hotel with more than 400 rooms and a public viewing platform.
Others
On November 17, 2006, Jean Nouvel received the International Highrise Award 2006, endowed with 50,000 euros .
Because of its appearance, the building is also jokingly compared to a penis by the residents of Barcelona.
Externally, the Torre Agbar is similar to the 179.8 meter high London building 30 St Mary Ax (2001-2004) by the architect Norman Foster , nicknamed "The Gherkin" (German: "Gurke").
More pictures
Torre Agbar, construction phase, April 2004
Torre Agbar, construction phase, April 2004
The inside of the dome
Illuminated facade at night
Torre Agbar, 2006
Torre Agbar, 2011
2015
See also
Movie
- Torre Agbar, Barcelona. Documentation, Germany 2008, 26 min., Script and direction: Sabine Pollmeier and Joachim Haupt, production: Parnass Film, ZDF , arte , series: Faszination Wolkenkratzer, first broadcast: July 19, 2009, summary by arte.
Web links
- Torre Agbar near Emporis
- PERI GmbH, Torre Agbar, Barcelona, Spain (project description)
- Lightled, SL, Barcelona, Spain
- More photos on Flickr
Coordinates: 41 ° 24 ′ 12 " N , 2 ° 11 ′ 21" E