Torre Agbar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Torre Agbar (Catalan or Spanish, from Aguas de Barcelona, a water company), or Agbar Tower, is a 21st century skyscraper in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was designed by French architect Jean Nouvel. It opened in June 2005 and it was inaugurated officially by the King of Spain on 16 September 2005.
According to Jean Nouvel, the shape of the Torre Agbar was inspired by the mountains of Montserrat that surround Barcelona, and by the shape of a geyser of water rising into the air. There are many people, however, who see it as a giant dildo or suppository.[1][2][3] It has 30 000 m² (323,000 ft²) of above-ground office space, 3210 m² (34,500 ft²) of technical service floors with installations and 8351 m² (90,000 ft²) of services, including an auditorium. The Agbar Tower measures 144.4 meters (466 feet in height) and consists of 38 stories, including 4 underground levels.
Its design combines a number of different architectural concepts, resulting in a striking structure built with reinforced concrete, covered with a facade of glass, and over 4,500 window openings cut out of the structural concrete.
The building stands out in Barcelona; it is the third tallest building in Barcelona, only after the Arts Hotel and the Mapfre Tower, both 154 m. A unique feature of the building is its nocturnal illumination. It has 4,500 LED luminous devices that allow generation of luminous images in the facade. In addition, it has temperature sensors in the outside of the tower that regulate the opening and closing of the glass blinds of the facade of the building, reducing the consumption of energy for air conditioning. It will house the head office of the Group Aigües de Barcelona (Spanish: "Aguas de Barcelona", English: "Barcelona Water Company").
[edit] See also
- 30 St Mary Axe, an architecturally similar building in London.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Torre Agbar - Great collection of articles
- Torre Agbar web page (Macromedia Flash)
- Torre Agbar at Factoría Urbana: Photos and technical information about the building
- Agbar Tower
| Preceded by Highcliff (Hong Kong, China) |
Emporis Skyscraper Award (Silver) 2004 |
Succeeded by Q1 Tower (Gold Coast, Australia) |
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