TORRE AGBAR


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TORRE AGBAR
144 metres/474 feet
33 stories
Completed: 2004

Torre Agbar is Barcelona’s third tallest skyscraper; behind Torre Mapfre and Hotel Arts Barcelona,
which are both 154m/505f tall and were completed in 1992.
The building is situated on the Avinguda Diagonal, one of Barcelona’s main roads, next to the
Plaça de les Glories Catalanes roundabout.

Some Torre Agbar facts & figures:

- designed by French architect Jean Nouvel (1945);
- 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.
But others see something quite different in the shape of the tower...
- named after the Barcelona water company Aguas de Barcelona,
that owns the building and has its headquarters in it;
- the building is of reinforced concrete, covered with a glass façade,
with over 4,400 windows cut out of the structural concrete;
the building has two outer skins; the first one, that covers the concrete structure,
is a layer of polished aluminium in 40 different colours. The second skin is made up of 59,619 sheets of clear glass.
- the building has a special lightning scheme; some 4,500 LED's give the building a
yellow, blue, red and pink colouring; this lightning scheme though only illuminates
the building on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights;
- The building has temperature sensors on the outside that regulate the opening
and closing of the glass blinds of the facade of the tower,
reducing the consumption of energy for air conditioning;
- the shape of the tower is not circular, but slightly elliptical;
- its shape and (to a little lesser extent) size is similar to that of London's 30 st Mary Axe;
- the building goes straight up from the first to the 15th floor;
from the 16th to the 25th floor the building is curved,
while the 26th to 33rd floors are part of the top dome;
- the total weight of the concrete and glass structure is 250 tons;
- the building has 30,000 m² (323,000 ft²) of above-ground office space, 3,210 m² (34,500 ft²) of technical service floors
with installations and 8,351 m² (90,000 ft²) of services, including an auditorium.
Twenty seven of the buildings floors are used for offices and an additional three house the technical components of the building.
A cafeteria occupies another entire floor, another boasts conference rooms, and one floor in the tower offers an observation area.
Four subterranean floors contain an auditorium and parking facilities.
- the ground floor is accessible to the public.
It houses a shop, which sells Torre Agbar related products, like T-shirts, pens, and postcards.
The tower itself is not accessible to the general public.
- the building costs were approximately 100 million euro (us$125 million);
- construction started in 2001; the tower was completed in the 2nd half of 2004;
- the building was officially inaugurated in September of 2005.



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