The Agbar Tower is a special landmark in Barcelona. Its peculiarity is primarily manifested in the fact that the tower was built quite recently - in 2005. This modern building does not fit into the general flavor of the city, but at the same time, the Agbar Tower is the pride of local residents.

The building itself is actually a skyscraper, although it is so atypical that it arouses interest not only among tourists, but also among the population: at the opening of the building in 2005, both guests of Barcelona and high-ranking officials of Spain (including the king) were present.

Where is it and how to get there

Agbar Tower is located at Avinguda Diagonal 209-211.

You can get to the tower:

  • by metro (red line, Plaça Glòries station)
  • by bus (routes 7, 56, 60, 92, 192)
  • on trams T4 and T5 (stops Ca L’Aranyo and La Farinera) respectively

General characteristics

The height of this grandiose building is 145 meters. In fact, the building has 38 floors, but four of them are hidden underground.

Tourists who want to not only photograph the general view of the tower, but also get inside, can do this for free, and they can enter the building at any time.

In addition to the main area of ​​30,000 square meters, which is occupied by office premises, there are also technical and service premises (total area - 11,500 square meters), as well as a large concert hall.

However not in Agbar Tower observation platforms , there are no excursions provided, and the main area of ​​the building is occupied by offices, so there is not much to do here. The Tower is of much greater interest from the outside, mainly due to its special architecture.

The building was designed by the French architect Jean Nouvel, and the history of the creation of this structure is very interesting.

There is a version according to which Nouvel copied the project according to which an identical skyscraper was built in London. The buildings are indeed almost identical, but the London skyscraper is much smaller than the skyscraper in Barcelona.

The architect himself claims that he was inspired to create such a project by the outlines of the legendary bell towers of the Sagrada Familia and the conical rocks mountain range Montserrat and mountain geysers.

Jean Nouvellier stated at the opening of the Agbar Tower that for him the building is a kind of monument to natural geysers.

As for the residents of Barcelona, ​​many of them see the building as just a big cucumber. By the way, Londoners call their skyscraper a cucumber.

Besides its shape and amazing appearance The Agbar Tower has another architectural feature that can partially be seen from the outside.

The tower does not have symmetrical windows, and at first glance they are all located chaotically.


This decision is explained by the fact that everything inside is asymmetrical: every room, every office and every technical room has an open layout. Thus, no two floor plans are identical in the building.

Despite the patriotism of the Spaniards and the love of the people of Barcelona for their city, the Agbar Tower received several very unflattering nicknames. The most harmless of them, apart from the “cucumber”, is the “suppository” (the scientific name for medical suppositories).

The skyscraper builders took an interesting approach to solving the issue of illuminating the skyscraper.

The entire building is sheathed on the outside with special metal plates, with LEDs mounted in the plates.

However, such lighting works in certain time: from 19 to 23 hours in winter and 21 to 24 hours in the summer season (from March 28 to October 31). During these hours, the building shimmers with 16 million different colors and shades, and the Agbar Tower is an impressive sight.

Generally recognized symbol; the original 34-story skyscraper in , which has become one of the most tall buildings in the world. It is the third tallest building in Barcelona, ​​making it impossible to miss when driving through the city. It is included in the version of our website.

The tower got its name in honor management company"Agbar Group". The main architect was the Frenchman Jean Nouvel. It was according to his idea that the building took a shape reminiscent of a giant cucumber, although the meaning was different. He wanted the tower to resemble monoliths famous mountain Montserrat. The entire 142-meter building is made of alternating glass blocks. It has a total of 38 floors, four of which are located underground. The façade of the tower is decorated with 4,500 LED elements. Tourists can visit the building absolutely free.

In addition to the offices of the largest Spanish companies, there are cozy cafes on numerous floors. The building's lobby often hosts exhibitions and other public events. J. Nouvel's admiration for the Sagrada Familia Cathedral was reflected to some extent in the architecture of the tower. Its northern side is designed in such a way as to obtain an optimal view of the temple. You can get to your destination by metro along the red line to Glories station, or by trams T4, T5.

Photo attraction: Agbar Tower

The architecture of Barcelona is multifaceted; next to ancient Gothic buildings, there are also modern masterpieces in the Hi-Tech style. One such masterpiece is the 34-story Torre Agbar skyscraper, designed by French architect Jean Nouvel.

Torre Agbar, translated as Agbar Tower, is a modern skyscraper located in Plaza Glorias Catalanes, Barcelona. The building is named after its owner, who is the Agbar Group holding company. The building was erected by the Dragados company according to a joint project by the French architect Jean Nouvel and the Spanish company b720 Arquitectos. It was built in June 2005 and inaugurated by the King of Spain on September 16, 2005. The shape of the building is inspired by the idea of ​​the water element, the bizarre outlines of the rocks of the Montserrat mountain range, located near the city, and the bell towers of the Sagrada Familia.

Torre Agbar is a 38-story building with a height of 145 meters (the third highest in the city). The total floor area of ​​the tower is 50,693 square meters, of which 30,000 are for offices, 3,210 for technical premises, 8,132 for general services and 9,132 for parking. The building is clad in multi-colored metal panels containing about 4,000 lighting devices using LED technology. They form complex color combinations (up to 16 million colors), creating the effect of a kind of “pixelated” color - from a distance the pixels merge, and the tower seems to shimmer with all the colors of the rainbow. On the outside, the entire building is covered in rectangular glass panels that can move based on signals from temperature sensors on the outside of the tower.


Besides, Torre Agbar equipped with indoor light sensors that open and close blinds as needed, resulting in significant energy savings

Agbar Tower is a building with a special double facade. The façade of the tower consists of two layers. The first layer is a dense concrete shell, lined with brightly painted metal sheets and randomly scattered squares of windows. The second layer is a system of translucent glass blinds placed at arm's length. These types of double-facade systems are often used in construction today, as they allow natural ventilation of interior spaces, thus saving space that would be occupied by unnecessary air ducts and air conditioners. In winter, the façade layer serves as an air buffer, delaying the release of heat to the outside. In summer, on the contrary, the cold air accumulated during the night rushes indoors. In addition, a peculiar veil of corrugated glass blinds gives Nouvel’s building the owner of mystical outlines, which are emphasized by lighting at night.


The location of the 4,400 windows of the Agbar skyscraper was determined by a computer program - a random number generator. This has become a major challenge to maintain the statics of the building envelope, which is dependent on each opening. As a result, this increased the cost of both design and construction, since an individual plan had to be developed for each floor. The completion of the Agbar Tower is a glass dome. The central part of the high-rise building we are considering is stairs, elevators and technical structures, and office areas are located around it.


What is unique about the Torre Agbar skyscraper is its energy efficiency. Designers took advantage climatic conditions, in order to keep energy consumption as low as possible and increase comfort. The building is installed so that solar energy, thanks to 4,500 windows, contributes to heating. At the same time, the windows serve for natural ventilation. An air chamber is formed between the outer wall and the glass shell, which performs the function of natural air conditioning. Some of the glass plates on the south side are equipped with photovoltaic surfaces to generate electricity.
The most energy-efficient technologies were also used for the technical equipment of the tower. To air condition and heat the building, a VRV system was installed with 27 different climate zones on each floor. A centralized system regulates and optimizes the need for air conditioning or heating depending on the outside temperature and office occupancy.


Tower Torre Agbar was awarded the prize for building construction in 2006. Architects Jean Nouvel thus decided to pay tribute to the most famous Spanish architect, Catalan Antoni Gaudi. The cost of the project was more than 130 million euros. You can read about other popular attractions in Spain in a special selection.

Address: Spain, Barcelona, ​​Diagonal Ave.
Start of construction: 1999
Completion of construction: 2005 year
Architect: Jean Nouvel
Height: 144.4 m
Number of floors: 34 above ground and 4 underground
Coordinates: 41°24"12.8"N 2°11"22.3"E

General view of the tower

Agbar Tower has 38 floors. Many sources mention that the skyscraper in Barcelona consists of 34 floors. The thing is that four floors are underground and are not captured by the cameras of enthusiastic tourists. The design of this tower was created by the famous modern architect Jean Nouvel. However, to recreate this miracle, he needed help: specialists from b720 Arquitectos became co-authors of the project. Jean Nouvel, in numerous interviews after the grand opening of the tower, said that this project was inspired by the raging water element, the legendary bell towers of the Sagrada Familia and the conical rocks of the Montserrat mountain range, which can be admired near Barcelona. Whether this is true or not is for experts to decide: many of them claim that the Agbar Tower is a kind of copy of a building rising in the capital of Great Britain. They are even called the same - “cucumbers”.

View of the tower at night

Architectural "mismatch"

From the mid-19th century, Barcelona began to actively unravel and “go beyond” the walls erected in the Middle Ages. The construction of new buildings was carried out according to a clearly verified and meticulously calculated plan by engineer Ildefonsin Cerda. This plan can be called an orthogonal planning grid. Thanks to such development and the ban on construction based on the principle of free planning, “flat” and convenient avenues, boulevards and streets appeared in Barcelona.>

It is impossible to get lost in them, everything is clear, convenient and, one might even say, cozy. In 2005, a so-called “hole” appeared among this orderliness. This was the Agbar Tower, built by Nouvel. To date, the area adjacent to the tower cannot be brought into compliance with the above-mentioned orthogonal planning grid. According to authoritative experts, the Agbar Tower, which is the office of the water supply company Aguas de Barcelona, ​​is causing chaos in the calm life of the Catalans.

Tower illuminated at night

Agbar Tower through the eyes of Barcelona guests

No matter how the architects criticize Nouvel’s creation, the Agbar Tower with a total area of ​​more than 50 thousand square meters is a truly fantastic sight. Each office, each room, including the technical one, is designed in an open plan. As a result of this, the tourist will not be able to find any symmetry in the arrangement of the windows. All of them, and there are no more or less than 4.5 thousand of them, are located chaotically. However, this speaks more about the architectural complexity of the project and the accuracy of construction calculations, rather than about Nouvel’s “freedom,” which in turn cannot but delight tourists. During the daytime, city guests, looking at the Agbar Tower, admire the unusual play of colors that arise thanks to the multi-colored transparent and translucent panels that cover the entire structure. They seem to be alive: they open and close automatically, contributing to proper ventilation and proper energy saving throughout the building. However, all these details are visible only if a person is directly near the building. If you look at the tower, built in the style of abstract symbolic expressionism, from a distance, you get the impression that it is built from liquid metal, somewhat reminiscent of mercury. Everything merges together: panels, windows, partitions.

Illuminated view of the tower

As soon as dusk falls on Barcelona, ​​the Agbar Tower appears before the eyes of amazed tourists in all its glory: four and a half thousand LEDs turn the building into a “dome” shimmering with neon lights. Many compare Nouvel's project at night to a New Year's tree decorated with a thousand garlands. The lighting system is amazing: it seems as if the entire building consists of glowing pixels. About 16 million colors create effects that cause a silent shock to the person who sees the Agbar Tower for the first time.

As mentioned above, the Catalans treat their tower with irony: almost the same way as the French once treated Eiffel’s creation. “Cucumber”, “suppository” - the most harmless nicknames of the Agbara Tower. The rest of the associations that one of the tallest architectural structures in Barcelona evokes among the Catalans, to put it mildly, is not for publication...

Tower fragment

Despite all the “shortcomings” and criticism from architects, the Agbara Tower is still one of the main symbols of Barcelona. The townspeople are accustomed to giving it unflattering names, but they are proud of it, like everything that attracts attention to Catalonia and its capital. Catalans are such a people: pride, devotion to their native land and love for everything that has ever been built on it are the main traits of their character. If you ask any guide giving tours of Barcelona what you need to see in the city, he will definitely point out the Agbara Tower, along with the masterpieces of Gaudí and the legendary Camp Nou.

Many tourist brochures for Barcelona say that you should not be influenced by skeptical architects, and be sure to visit the amazing architectural structure located in Plaza Glorias Catalanes. Moreover, according to the assumptions of many townspeople, even more amazing buildings will soon appear behind the Tower. After all, it is located on the border of the so-called technological quarter, which means that beyond this border the flight of imagination of designers is unlimited.

Agbar is a Barcelona symbol of abstract expressionism and at the same time the most popular tower in Spain.

The cone-shaped structure looks like a gigantic cucumber or an unlit cigar. Due to its curious design and introduced lighting effects, Agbar has become a really popular landmark in Barcelona.

Construction started in 1999, led by Jean Nouvel, and performed by the construction company Dragados. Everything ended in 2005 - the tower was completely built and officially launched. The name “Agbar” refers to the company of the same name, the owner of the attraction.

Drawings of the Agbar Tower in Barcelona, ​​Spain

Design

The exterior of the structure is inspired by the landscapes of Montserrat and the variability of water, which is directly related to the main activity of Agbar. Among the 34 external and 4 underground floors of the building is the office of the Barcelona water supply company. The building was originally built for her.

The result was a two-layer giant cone. The inner layer consists of haphazardly placed windows and metal sheets with built-in LEDs, the outer layer is a kind of frame hung with reflective plates. The latter are automatically adjusted: lowered or turned towards the sun so that the walls of the structure regularly change color. When the luminary leaves the sky, Agbar begins another light show.

Night performances

At night, about 4 thousand multi-colored blocks, mounted across the entire surface at the same level as the windows, light up. The squares, like monitor pixels, illuminate Agbar, creating a single abstract pattern. The height of the building is almost 145 meters, resulting in a truly spectacular performance that illuminates the entire block.


Agbar Tower at night, Barcelona, ​​Spain

In total, the design produces about 16 million shades. However, all the diversity of Agbar’s palette needs to be observed up close - from afar, complex color combinations inevitably merge into 2-3 basic ones. Of course, it is impossible to maintain the show uninterruptedly, which is why the attraction is lit only for a few hours, which depends on the season.

Inside Agbara

The building is also originally designed inside. The key here is the principle of asymmetry. All rooms, regardless of purpose, have a unique layout. This makes each floor different from the others. You can really notice the internal disorder from the outside - the windows are located completely chaotically.

Apart from the curious office system, there is little to see inside Agbar, although the corridors contain historical passages about Barcelona's water supply. The top of the structure is decorated with an observation deck.