Torre Mapfre

The Mapfre Tower was completed in 1992 and, alongside its twin, the Hotel Arts, forms a symbolic gateway to the city from the Olympic Marina. It is one of the emblems of the Olympic Village urban regeneration scheme, which was built to house the athletes taking part in the 1992 games. The tower and the hotel are the two tallest buildings in Barcelona. Although they are both identical in height (154 m), the tower has fewer floors. It was designed by the architects Iñigo Ortiz and Enrique De León and resembles a giant prism with a square ground plan. The base of the tower comprises a variety of finishes and flat surfaces, with the exception of a deep opening on the side overlooking the Avinguda del Litoral, and a lower volume shaped like the bow of a ship, which serves as the entrance. The main body of the building uses an unusual variant of the curtain wall to create a distinctive zig-zag façade. Vertical aluminium sides alternate with tilted glass panels that reflect the street below like mirrors. There is a smaller, cube-shaped structure on the top of the building that serves as a helipad. The interior of the tower is a classic example of an open-plan building, with concrete pillars separating it from the outer wall. A concrete core ensures smooth vertical circulation and also houses the toilets. The ground floor is used for retail space and the rest of the block for offices, most of them belonging to the insurance company Mapfre, from which the building takes its name.