Torre Picasso (Picasso Tower) is a skyscraper in Madrid, Spain designed by Minoru Yamasaki. From 1988 until 2007 it was the tallest building in Madrid, measuring and with 43 floors. Torre Picasso is located next to the Pablo Picasso Square, within the commercial complex AZCA along the

Paseo de la Castellana Paseo de la Castellana, commonly known as La Castellana, is a major thoroughfare in Madrid, Spain. Cutting across the city from South to North, it has been described as the "true structuring axis" of the city. History and description The street ...

. The building is currently the fifth largest in Madrid and the Tenth tallest building in Spain.

History

Planning and construction

The Torre Picasso was part of a plan to build a large block of modern buildings in the expansion area of northern Madrid. Construction of this area, better known as AZCA, began in 1970 and in 1975 developer, ''

Unión de Explosivos Río Tinto Unión may refer to: Places * Unión, Paraguay * Unión Municipality, Falcón, Venezuela * Unión, Montevideo, Uruguay * Unión Cantinil, Huehuetenango, Guatemala * Unión, San Luis, Argentina * Unión Department, Córdoba Province, Argentina * Uni ...

, S.A.'', awarded design of the tower to American architect Minoru Yamasaki, in collaboration with Jorge Mir Valls and Rafael Coll Pujol. In 1980, Yamasaki received a license to build the highest office complex of Madrid. Construction began late 1982, and the building opened in December 1988. During this period, construction stalled for a period until new owners ''Portland Valderrivas S.A.'' and ''Inmobiliaria Asón S.A.'', purchased the incomplete structure and relaunched work in 1985 under the direction of architect Fernando Alas. In 2002, Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC) regained control of the building through a purchase of Portland Valderrivas. FCC owned the tower until December 2011 when Pontegadea Inmobiliaria, a division of Industria de Diseño Textil, S.A. purchased the structure for €400 million. PER Gestora Inmobiliaria, S.L.manages the building.

Skyline position

At its opening in 1988, Torre Picasso surpassed the elder office tower Torre de Madrid. Notable surrounding skyscrapers are Torre Europa,

Banco de Bilbao Tower The Castellana 81 (previously known as Torre BBVA, or, in English, BBVA Tower) is a 107m skyscraper in Madrid, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_m ...

and Torre Titania. Torre Picasso was Spain's tallest building until 2001, when it was overtaken by the Gran Hotel Bali in

Benidorm Benidorm is a town and municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencia, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Benidorm has been a tourist destination within Spain since 1925, when its port was extended and the first hotels were built, though ...

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in th ...

, the

Torre Espacio The Torre Emperador Castellana, simply known as Torre Emperador and formerly named Torre Espacio (Spanish for Space Tower) is a skyscraper in Madrid, Spain, measuring 230 metres (755 feet) tall and containing 57 floors. It is currently the List ...

in 2007, and Torre Caja Madrid,

Torre de Cristal The Torre de Cristal ( Spanish for Glass Tower) is a skyscraper in the Cuatro Torres Business Area (CTBA) in Madrid, Spain, completed in 2008. With a final height of , it surpassed Torre Emperador as the tallest building in Spain, and is the ...

and Torre Sacyr Vallehermoso since 2009.

Figures and statistics

The following information can be found on the official website of Torre Picasso: * Height: above ground ( including basement) * 43 floors ** 5 basement floors (first level is a commercial area, others are parking) ** ground floor houses the lobby ** 42 floors house offices ** 44th floor contains mechanical equipment ** 45th floor contains the heliport * Area: office space, in total * Size per floor: * 26 elevators; 18 serve office floors divided into three zones: ** 1st-18th floors at ** 18th-32nd floors at ** 32nd-43rd floors at (fastest in Spain) * Glass façade surface: * Parking space: 837 * Foreseen population: 6,000 persons * Daily visitors: 1,500 persons

Architecture

The structure has a rectangular footprint with a windowless two-storey base. A wide round

arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vaul ...

, resting on an underground

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

structure for support, serves as the entrance and supports the façade above. The opening under this arch is covered by a special security glass named ''STADIP'' (the one used in Torre Agbar in Barcelona). Windows on floors 3 through 43 are grouped in twos divided by a slender pier. The groupings are divided by larger piers into 15 bays across the front of the building and 11 bays on the sides. The façade is covered in white aluminum and the corners of the structure are chamfered. The top two floors are also windowless and the parapet flares to form a

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

. Elevators, in three groupings, occupy a bay in the rear of the structure along with stairways.

Cultural depictions

* The tower was previously home to the Canal+ TV studios. * It was featured in the last scenes of Alejandro Amenábar's 1997 movie '' Open Your Eyes''. Lead character César (portrayed by Eduardo Noriega) commits suicide by jumping from the Torre Picasso. * It was featured in the Crisis (TV series) pilot as the Porter Pearce HQ though the action is supposed to happen in the DC area.

References

External links

Official website of Torre Picasso

Torre Picasso at Google Maps

Torre Picasso at Flickr

Picasso Tower
Kembhavi Architecture Foundation {{Madrid Skyscraper office buildings in Madrid Buildings and structures completed in 1988 1988 establishments in Spain Minoru Yamasaki buildings Modernist architecture in Spain Buildings and structures in Cuatro Caminos neighborhood, Madrid