El Barco (The Ship) is a residential apartment tower in Albufereta,

Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...

, Spain. It is formally called Torre Vistamar de la Albufereta, meaning "Albufereta Sea View Tower". El Barco was one of a cluster of buildings erected in the former village of Albufereta for "

Pied-Noir The (; ; : ) are an ethno-cultural group of people of French and other European descent who were born in Algeria during the period of French colonial rule from 1830 to 1962. Many of them departed for mainland France during and after the ...

s", or residents from France and other European countries, in

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

. It was completed in 1963. The building was designed by Juan Guardiola, inspired by the

Pirelli Tower Pirelli Tower (Italian: ''Grattacielo Pirelli'' – also called "''Pirellone''", literally "Big Pirelli") is a 32-storey, skyscraper in Milan, Italy. The base of the building is , with a length of and a width of . The construction used approxima ...

Giò Ponti Giovanni "Gio" Ponti (; 18 November 1891 – 16 September 1979) was an Italian architect, industrial designer, furniture designer, artist, teacher, writer and publisher. During his career, which spanned six decades, Ponti built more than a hu ...

in Milan. It takes its common name from its boat-shaped floor plan. El Barco is one of the most distinctive buildings of Alicante. It has an unusual lattice-work facade protecting the rear wall and windows, which was preserved during renovations completed in 2011. As of 2013 El Barco ranked in height as #370 in Europe and #34 in Spain. At El Barco is the second tallest building in Alicante, after Estudiotel Alicante at . The third tallest is

Gran Sol Looking up from street level (2007) Alicante Gran Sol (formerly Tryp Gran Sol, officially Hotel Alicante Gran Sol Affiliated by Meliá) is a skyscraper and hotel in Alicante, Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern ...

at . In December 2006 the building was effectively isolated from vehicle access when the ''Sol Naciente '' access road collapsed, requiring construction of a new retaining wall along the beach.

References

Citations Sources * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barco, El Residential buildings completed in 1963 Buildings and structures in Alicante