FCC Construcción

This skyscraper will be the tallest building in Madrid, standing a towering total of 250 metres high, the maximum permitted by city ordinances.

Designed by Norman Foster, the building has two types of elevations. One is open, broad and glassed in, facing south and north, framed by the vertical cores standing on both sides of it, and the other is stepped, facing east and west, made up of a thin, solid core on the outer plane and the glassed-in storeys on the recessed plane.

The tower's image is the result of its double structure. It has got a main structure made of reinforced concrete, which corresponds to the 25x10-metre vertical cores. They act as a frame, holding up the weight of the building and withstanding the horizontal thrust of the wind. The secondary structure is metal. It makes up the different levels, which are grouped into three blocks of eleven, twelve and eleven storeys, respectively. These blocks are held up by huge trusses binding them to the cores. This secondary structure of metal beams is designed on the basis of long spans of up to 15x18 metres between supports. Thanks to this structure of outer cores and long spans, the number of structural elements inside the storeys is kept low, and the service spaces, such as washrooms and elevators, are located not in the actual storeys, but inside the cores. The result: A vast, 43x32 metre area for offices, practically free of walls, and identical in height, which gives the building flexibility and rationalisation for optimum architectural and commercial performance.

At the building's crown there is another set of technical plants, far above the roof of the last office storey, thus creating an arch that visually lightens the top of the building.

The first technical plant is set 24 metres above the ground, creating a spectacular, huge reception hall that is totally free of interior walls. At the top of this vast space, hanging from the technical plant's structure, there hangs an auditorium for 300 people.

Underground there are five storeys of parking with the capacity for a total of 1,150 vehicles. In the second basement, where the vehicle accesses from the underground ring road outside are located, there is a two-storey-tall area accessible from the outside, to be used as a loading dock.