Torre Agbar
From Archiplanet
| Torre Agbar | |
| Designer | Jean Nouvel , Architect |
| Location | Barcelona, Spain |
| Date | 1999 to 2005 |
| Building Type | skyscraper |
| Construction System | reinforced concrete |
| Climate | warm temperate |
| Context | urban |
| Architectural Style | Expressionist Modern |
| Street Address | |
| Notes | At 144.4 meters (466 feet in height) and 38 stories, including 4 underground levels, the third tallest building in Barcelona. |
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| Building Details | |
| Client | Layetana Inmuebles S.L. |
| Area | 47,500 square meters (510,000 square feet) |
| Stories | 38 stories (4 below ground) |
| Height | 142 meters |
| Program | offices for Aguas de Barcelona (AGBAR) + 350-seat auditorium |
In the Creator's Words "This is not a tower, a skyscraper, in the American sense. It is a more an emergence, rising singularly in the center of a generally calm city. Unlike slender spires and bell towers that typically pierce the horizons of horizontal cities, this tower is a fluid mass that bursts through the ground like a geyser under permanent, calculated pressure.
"The surface of the building evokes water: smooth and continuous, shimmering and transparent, its materials reveal themselves in nuanced shades of color and light. It is architecture of the earth without the heaviness of stone, like a distant echo of old Catalan formal obsessions carried by a mysterious wind off the Monserrat." - Jean Nouvel
[edit] Project Credits
Architectural Team
- Project Managers : AJN : Jean Pierre Bouanha, b720 : Vander Lemes
- Interior fitting-out project manager: Cristiano Benzoni
- Architects : Studies : Florence Rabiet, Alexa Plasencia, Emmanuelle Lapointe, Cristina Algas, Julie Fernandez, Francisco Martinez, Pascaline Paris, Elisabeth Farres
- Building work : Francisco Martinez, Pablo Garrido, Alexa Plasencia, Cristina Algas
- Graphic Design : Hiroshi Maeda (Façades)
Consultant Team
- Consultants :
- Alain Bony (Study color frontages)
- Studies : Arnauld de Bussierre (frontages)
- Building work : Xavier Ferres (Biosca Botey) (frontages)
- Plastics technician light : Yann Kersalé
- Economist : Argos Management
- Engineers : Gepro (fluids), R. Brufau & A. Obiol (structure)
- Model : Etienne Follenfant
- Pictures : Model : Gaston Tolila
- Synthesized images : Artefactory
[edit] Related Content at Wikipedia
Torre Agbar
The Torre Agbar, or Agbar Tower, is a 33-story tower at Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was designed by French architect Jean Nouvel in association with the Spanish firm b720 Arquitectos and built by Dragados.Structurae database It opened in June 2005 and was inaugurated officially by the King of Spain on 16 September 2005. The Torre Agbar is located in the Poblenou neighborhood of Barcelona and is named after its owners, the Agbar Group, a holding company whose interests include the Barcelona water company Aigües de Barcelona.http://www.agbar.es/esp/a-9_quienes_somos.asp Agbar corporate Web site
Design
According to Jean Nouvel, the shape of the Torre Agbar was inspired by Montserrat, a mountain near Barcelona, and by the shape of a geyser rising into the air. Jean Nouvel, in an interview, described it as having a phallic character.El gran supositorio Article by El Pais, quote: The suppository of Agbar rises to the heavens quickly (Translation by Google) As a result of its unusual shape, the building is known by several nicknames, such as "el supositori" (the suppository), "l'obús" (the shell) and some more scatological ones.Notícias Agbar (Includes interview with Jean Nouvel) quote from the Jean Nouvel interview: In Torre Agbar call the suppository. What do you think? ¡Normal! But I am sure that his phallic character will be diluted when finished. What characterized the tower will be a big vibration of light. Lovers of the mottoes you find another name, sure. [ sic] (Translation by Google) It is also somewhat similar in shape to Sir Norman Foster's 30 St. Mary Axe in London, often called "the Gherkin". It 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. The Agbar Tower measures 144.4 m (473.75 ft) in heightTorre agbar homepage and consists of 38 storeys, including four 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 (505.25 ft).
A defining feature of the building is its nocturnal illumination. It has 4,500 LED luminous devices that allow generation of luminous images in the façade. In addition, it has temperature sensors in the outside of the tower that regulate the opening and closing of the window blinds of the façade of the building, reducing the consumption of energy for air conditioning. It houses the head office of the Aigües de Barcelona Group, the water supply company of Barcelona.
Gallery
In popular culture
The Torre Agbar is a featured locale in the 2009 video game Wheelman, published by Midway Games.
See also
- 30 St Mary Axe, also known as "The Gherkin", and occasionally as The Swiss Re Tower, is an architecturally similar building in London which opened a year and a half earlier, in April 2004.
- Alain Robert, a famous climber who has scaled the building.
References
External links
- Torre Agbar collection of articles.
- Torre Agbar web page (Macromedia Flash)
- Technical information and photos Spanish
ca:Torre Agbar de:Torre Agbar et:Torre Agbar es:Torre Agbar fr:Torre Agbar id:Torre Agbar it:Torre Agbar he:טורה אגבר ka:ტორე აგბარი lb:Torre Agbar nl:Torre Agbar ja:トーレ・アグバール no:Torre Agbar oc:Torre Agbar pl:Torre Agbar pt:Torre Agbar ru:Торре Агбар fi:Torre Agbar uk:Вежа Аґбар vi:Torre Agbar
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[edit] References
- Nouvel's Torre Agbar by Katharine Logan, ArchitectureWeek No. 300, 3006.0823, pD1.1.
- Project information. Ateliers Jean Nouvel web site. http://www.jeannouvel.com. Viewed by D. Owen, 2008.0404.
