Torre Agbar is one of the most unusual attractions in Barcelona. It is located in Pablenou quarter, and it was named after its original owner, the Agbar Group. It was built in the 2000s, and it was designed by French architect, Jean Nouvel. The Agbar Tower consists of 38 storeys, it measures 145 meters in height. The façade is covered with steel plates. What makes this tower special is the lighting in the evening. It has 4.500 LED lights that enable the creation of luminous pictures on the façade. During Christmas, New Year’s Eve and some other manifestations, the towers changes its colours into computer-generated pictures.
The tower’s interior consists of offices, a couple of restaurants and cafés, which gives a reason for tourists to visit it. One of the most interesting facts regarding the building is that it is one of three highest buildings in the city, alongside Arts Hotel and the Mapfre Tower. The tower was opened in June 2005, while it was officially opened on 16 September, 2005 by King Juan Carlos I. It represents a single piece of Barcelona’s architectural high technology collection. The tower is owned by the international Agbar Group, with its corporate headquarters within the building, while the rest of the space is available for renting. The Agbar Group bought the building back in March 2010 for 165 million euros after reaching an agreement with previous owners, the Azurelau investment group.
According to Jean Nouvel, Torre Agbar is supposed to resemble a geyser rising into the air. It was inspired by Montserrat, a mountain near Barcelona. Due to its unusual shape, the building is known under a lot of nicknames, such as el supositori ("the suppository") and l'obús ("the shell"). The tower’s combines a number of different architectural concepts, resulting in a striking structure built with reinforced concrete, covered with a glass façade, and over 4,500 window openings cut out of the structural concrete.
A defining feature of the building is its lighting during the night time. It has 4.500 LED devices that allow generation of luminous images on its façade. In addition to that, the outside of the tower has temperature sensors that regulate the opening and closing of the window blinds of the façade, 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.
The construction was strongly influenced by one of the most representative symbols of Catalan culture. One side references the bell towers of the Sagrada Familia by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí. An additional tribute to the Sagrada Família lies in the north side of the tower, which was designed with the intention of obtaining an optimal view of the cathedral.
Additionally, Nouvel was inspired by the distinctive pinnacles of the Montserrat mountain range, which are of great significance for the people of Catalonia, as Montserrat houses their patron saint, Our Lady of Montserrat.
In designing the Agbar Tower, Nouvel said he rejected the prevailing North American opinion of what a skyscraper should look like. It was the architect's intention to give the impression of land that is emerging out of the ground in a particular fashion. The use of the tower by a water utility company led him to the design of a metaphor of a geyser sprouting from the deep sea.
Author of the article:
Ana Lazarević - correspondent for the city of Barcelona
Contact: [email protected]
