Geyser, bullet, vibrator, grenade, cucumber – the names people have given the Torre Agbar by Jean Nouvel in Barcelona are nearly as manifold as the play of colors and light reflections across the 16,000 m² façade of the oval building, protruding into the air with 35 floors. From afar, the outer shell with lamella-shaped glass and aluminum panels – over 56,000 pieces – appears nearly liquid. The shining and glittering is created by 40 different varnish colors, letting the lamella panels shine in different lights depending on the time of day through 16 different possible positions. Each element measures about 1.20 m by 0.30 m, the ones made of glass are also semi-transparent. Important extra function of the panels: sun protection, adjustable, depending on where the light comes from.

The Principal uses about 50 per cent of the office areas – most of them towards the inside – himself, but Torre Agbar creates a pleasant climate all over the place thanks to 4,349 openings in 4,500 irregularly spread windows. The coloring of the tower, red at the bottom along with blue for the elements fire and water up towards the top held in white for air, is made additionally vivid through 38 other color shades. They also emphasize the idea of a geyser breaking out. Impressive through its power and beauty …

Moving on to new Pastures

Jean Nouvel describes his new approach for the building this way: “The Torre Agbar is not a tower in the actual sense of the word, it rather is a creation, rising with controlled power from a calm city, breaking up the conventional horizontal views of narrow church towers. The Torre embodies the architecture of the earth without the heaviness of the rock – like a geyser.“ To the extremely busy square of the Catalan city of Barcelona, the colorful building, consisting of 25,000 cubic meters of concrete and 250 tons of aluminum, definitely is an upgrade, since for the first time it broke through the bleakness of a square hitherto used strictly in an urban-industrial manner. Here, Nouvel also takes the city’s historical context into consideration: Paying tribute to the great Catalan builder Antoni Gaudí and his Sagrada Família, Nouvel’s Torre stays a bit beneath its scheduled, yet still unfinished, overall height.

Interior and underworld utterly handy

All in all six lifts the employees can use outside, the management inside the Torre to access their offices. In four underground floors you will find parking decks and a conference room held in black and violet for 316 people. It gives you the impression of sitting right inside the earth’s core. Also here the consequent tribute to the elements: The shimmering of light, air, fire and earth outside; inside well-dosed darkness and modesty. And even the direct surroundings of the Torre sticks to this principle, since from a distance it looks as if the tower rises from a water surface. At night, 4,500 LEDs illuminate the Torre in yellow, pink, blue and red and emphasize the building’s claim to be one of the landmarks of Barcelona.  

Award-winning new Beginning  

In 2006 , Jean Nouvel has received the International Highrise Award for his project. Even though some might have their issues with the Torre Agbar’s shape: To the hitherto rather unbeautiful Poble Nou industrial area, the tower is an upgrade for the whole quarter. The building is not open to the public, however, staying for a little while inside the lobby held in calm black and red is permitted.