The Valencia Tower (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

: ''Torre de Valencia'') is a residential building in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, Spain. It is the most known as well as most controversial project by Javier Carvajal.

History and description

The project approval was passed by the

City Council of Madrid The City Council of Madrid ( es, Ayuntamiento de Madrid) is the top-tier administrative and governing body of the Madrid, the capital and biggest city of Spain. The City Council is composed by three bodies; the Mayor who leads the City Council an ...

in 1968. The building process took place between 1970 and 1973. The construction was temporarily halted by the City Council in April 1971 on behalf of the Ministry of Housing, on the basis of the complaints filed by the neighbours, who wanted the building to be tore down. The building was then acrimoniously derided in the pages of ''

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

''. The works resumed in June. A 26-floor concrete tower, reaching a 94-metre height, it became the highest residential building in the Spanish capital when it was finally opened in 1973. It is located in the Retiro District, in front of the

Retiro Park The Buen Retiro Park (Spanish: ''Parque del Buen Retiro'', literally "Good retirement park"), Retiro Park or simply El Retiro is one of the largest parks of the city of Madrid, Spain. The park belonged to the Spanish Monarchy until the late 19th ...

, in the junction of Menéndez Pelayo Avenue and O'Donnell Street. It has been noted as "an elaborated product of (Carvajal's) organicism". A controversial work, it has been heavily criticised, particularly in terms of the visual impact it creates in the sight of the

puerta de Alcalá The Puerta de Alcalá is a Neo-classical gate in the Plaza de la Independencia in Madrid, Spain. It was a gate of the former Walls of Philip IV. It stands near the city center and several meters away from the main entrance to the Parque del Bue ...

from the

plaza de Cibeles The Plaza de Cibeles is a square with a neo-classical complex of marble sculptures with fountains that has become a symbol for the city of Madrid. It sits at the intersection of Calle de Alcalá (running from east to west), Paseo de Recoletos (t ...

. Architect Santiago Fajardo defined the building as follows: "an extraordinary building, extraordinarily badly placed".

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{coord missing, Spain Buildings and structures in Ibiza neighborhood, Madrid Residential buildings in Spain