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Torre Picasso (Picasso Tower) is a skyscraper 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 , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
designed by
Minoru Yamasaki was an American architect, best known for designing the original World Trade Center in New York City and several other large-scale projects. Yamasaki was one of the most prominent architects of the 20th century. He and fellow architect Edward ...
. 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 Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
Square, within the commercial complex
AZCA AZCA, an acronym for ''Asociación Mixta de Compensación de la Manzana A de la Zona Comercial de la Avenida del Generalísimo'' ("Mixed Association for Compensation of the A Block of the Commercial Area of the Avenue of the Generalisimo", now ca ...
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, S.A.'', awarded design of the tower to American architect
Minoru Yamasaki was an American architect, best known for designing the original World Trade Center in New York City and several other large-scale projects. Yamasaki was one of the most prominent architects of the 20th century. He and fellow architect Edward ...
, 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, within the AZCA financial district, and is currently the company's Madrid HQ. It was designed by the Spanish architect Fran ...
and
Torre Titania Torre Titania is the twelfth-tallest skyscraper in Madrid, Spain and has become the country's largest mall. Construction began in mid-2007, after the burning of the Windsor Tower, which formerly occupied the site. The interior, which houses st ...
. Torre Picasso was Spain's tallest building until 2001, when it was overtaken by the
Gran Hotel Bali Gran Hotel Bali is a 4-star hotel located in Benidorm, province of Alicante, Spain. It is, at 186 metres high (210 metres including the mast), 52 storey skyscraper and the tallest building on Europe's Mediterranean coast. It was the tallest bu ...
in
Benidorm Benidorm is a town and municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, 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 hotel ...
,
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 ...
, 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 four ...
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 The Torre PwC, formerly Torre Sacyr Vallehermoso, is a 52-floor, skyscraper, completed in 2008, located in Madrid, Spain. Torre PwC is one of four buildings in the Cuatro Torres Business Area. It was designed by Carlos Rubio Carvajal and Enrique ...
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 vau ...
, 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-resistan ...
structure for support, serves as the entrance and supports the
façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loan word from the French (), which means ' frontage' or ' face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important aspect ...
above. The opening under this arch is covered by a special security glass named ''STADIP'' (the one used in
Torre Agbar ''Torre'' (plurals ''torri'' and ''torres'') means ''tower'' in seven Romance languages (Portuguese, Spanish, Galician, Catalan, Italian, Occitan and Corsican) and may refer to: Biology * Muir-Torre syndrome, the inherited cancer syndrome * ...
in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
). 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+ Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...
TV studios. * It was featured in the last scenes of
Alejandro Amenábar Alejandro Fernando Amenábar Cantos (born March 31, 1972) is a Spanish-Chilean film director, screenwriter and composer. He has won nine Goyas—including a Goya Award for Best Director for his 2001 film '' The Others''— two European Film A ...
'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