




Barcelona
Carles Díaz
An urban layout located in the area known as Porta Firal, which borders the Fira 2000. We proposed the volumetric arrangement of the complex, though with certain limitations. The buildable area was already defined, and the recommended solution to achieve it was to concentrate it into three skyscrapers, each around 120 meters tall. However, the City Council—represented at the time by Pilar Rahola—had agreed with the distant neighbours not to exceed 80 meters in height at any point. The fact that an office building with a central core, exposed to the four winds, was considered "efficient" when the floor area approached 1200 m² with a square perimeter, forced us to imagine four squat, very close towers.
As a result, we decided to slim down the base of the larger skyscrapers to make the platform they rest on more permeable and generous. This is the reason behind their bold structure. Only the central vertical circulation cores rest on this platform, and only after about 10 meters above do the towers acquire their full perimeter. Even so, the four skyscrapers were so close to each other that we proposed two of them almost touching at their vertices, creating a welcoming small plaza at the Passeig de la Zona Franca.
Approximately 1,000 shared parking spaces occupy the three lower levels, and a commercial frontage supports the new front park, which is at the same level.