The Agbar Tower is a 144-meter skyscraper in Barcelona, Spain designed by architect Jean Nouvel and completed in 2005. It uses LED lights to illuminate its distinctive shape inspired by a geyser, lighting up both the tower and Barcelona's skyline at night. Its construction from 1999-2005 was an ambitious project that pushed technical boundaries using innovative materials and lighting technology. The Agbar Tower remains one of the most iconic and prominent architectural works in Barcelona and all of Europe.

1. The Agbar Tower
Name
School
Date

2. Abstract
This paper will deal with the Agbar Tower which is a mega structure in Spain that stretches high
above the Barcelona skyline and lights up the night sky with illuminating LED’s that provide an
artistic look to Barcelona. The Agbar tower began construction in 1999 and ended in 2005. This
paper will discuss what the tower is made of, the inner design, the group and the architect who
designed it, as well as other aspects of the tower that will be covered in the paragraphs to follow.

3. The Agbar Tower
Agbar Tower (Torre Agbar in Catalan) is a high rise, high tech, tower in Spain that
opened in 2005 and is one of the premier architectural works in all of Spain, winning the
International Highrise Award of 2006. The Agbar tower lies right outside of Barcelona and is
one of the premier towers in the area, shooting up 38 stories of office space and standing alone as
the sole tower that mimics itself in appearance. The tower itself was inspired by the shape of a
geyser, which explains the shape which seems to shoot out from the Barcelona skyline. Prolific,
imposing, overpowering, and beautiful, the Agbar Tower is one of the most modern looking, and
high tech buildings in all of Europe and is a dream in terms of the absolute modernity of it.
Breaking ground in 1999, and finally being christened by the King of Spain in 2005, the Agbar
tower remains a wonder of Barcelona and a major credit to Jean Nouvel, its French creator who
has a history of awe inspiring, and high tech architectural works. The Agbar tower is one of the
most inspiring high tech works in all of architecture, and serves as a model for high tech projects
in all modern times. The beautiful sellout that rises above the ground is a testament to the
innovation and uniqueness on the French creator. It is also considered an epic tome of modern
engineering and is something that could not have been produced a couple of decades ago.
The Agbar Tower broke ground for construction in 1999 on the outskirts of Barcelona,
Spain, in Catalonia. It was not the first project that acclaimed architect Jean Nouvel had worked
on, but it was a welcomed addition of his to the skyline of Barcelona which was looking to ramp
up the high tech feel that it was giving out. In a city with so much history and old structures, it
was a welcomed addition to the skyline. During its construction, it was often joked at as being of

4. a phallic nature in its design, as for the first phase of its construction and erection, it was of a
cylindrical, closed shape which jetted into the sky high above the heads of the citizenry. The
Dragados company was commissioned to complete the Agbar tower, and the process of its
construction went on for a six year period after ground was initially broken in 1999. The
construction of the building was a lengthy one and the tower underwent change in its design
during the process of being constructed. Originally intended to be 142 meters, the tower, in its
final completion, rose 144 meters above the ground due to a small change in the decision of its
final height upon construction. The Agbar Tower was envisioned as one of the premier pieces of
artwork in architecture in all of Europe upon its conception, and was designed to live up to the
moniker that it had envisioned for itself. Construction was a lengthy process due to the design
and sheer ambition of the Agbar tower to begin with. The design of the tower was something that
had never been attempted before and therefore some extra effort was done to make sure that the
unknown variables were caught before. While most buildings that workers who were employed
to build the Agbar tower are used to building are made of materials such as concrete, wood,
plaster, and other assorted materials, the Agbar tower was a completely new design in terms of
construction and a new approach had to be taken to it. It is completely logical to say that the
Agbar tower was revolutionary in its design, as well as its construction. The phallic construction
off the bird tower created design challenges for the architect and the construction team. A lot of
people and media were interested in this building and there was added pressure to make sure that
the design off the tower was not only revolutionary but the same time appealing and functional.
The Agbar tower began construction in 1999 and was not completed and open until 2006.
This lengthy process was due to the sheer ambition of the building itself as well as the materials
and techniques that were employed and put into practice for the building which sought out to be

5. one of the most revolutionary in all of Europe, adding prestige to Barcelona which is already a
city of high prestige and high design. The tower sought to combine the flamboyant nature of
much of Europe’s new skyscrapers designed by architects that are more artists than they are
architects as well as a high tech feel about it that would be known the world over in architectural
circles. The Agbar tower sought out to, and met the ambitious goal that it set for itself. The
construction of the Agbar tower was a lengthy one, and began in 1999. The group commissioned
to build the Agbar tower was the Dragados company, which over the course of 6 years used the
manpower of 1170 workers to complete the prestigious project in Barcelona. Usually building
prestigious, high tech buildings like this includes modest heights and somewhat of a modest
design in that manner as well. The designer wanted to take a different path and therefore the
tower was created with different materials and the same time stands at 120 m. The Agbar tower
defied all odds of buildings that are made like this and jetted up 120 meters into the skyline of
Barcelona, illuminating the city and itself with colorful lights. This is one of the many reasons
that construction of the Agbar tower took such a long time. Another reason that construction took
a long time was the incorporation of state of the art, innovative technology in the Agbar Tower
which also made the construction take a while as well. As was mentioned previously, the Agbar
tower illuminates, at night, itself as well as the Barcelona skyline. This is done with the
integration of Light Emitting Diodes (hereafter referred to as LED’s) into the building structure,
on the outside, that accomplish this marvelous feat and blend of art and architecture. This LED
design provided a high tech feel to the building as well as a feature that announced the
prominence of such a building to not just Barcelona, but all of Spain and beyond that as well.
The LED’s are a sort of way to announce to Europe that Spain now has a high tech high rise of
its own and it accomplished this in a most perfect manner that could be accomplished. (Pictured)

6. http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/04/0417_jean/image/agbar.jpg
As was also previously mentioned, the height of the tower itself is another major feature of it
which provides it with an imposing nature as well as an awe inspiring beauty that is announced
to all of Barcelona. The tower was actually designed that way in order to provide great views of
the stunning and historical city of Barcelona as well as views of the Spain and Catalan country
that lies beyond the direct, and peripheral, vicinity of the Agbar tower. When these two elements
of the Agbar tower are combined, the lights that light up the entire skyline and announce its
presence, as well as the height which provides an imposing and overpowering nature of the

7. tower, it is a small wonder why it is one of the most prominent buildings on the Iberian
peninsula, as well as all of Spain and Europe and beyond that. (Pictured)
http://www.planetware.com/i/photo/barcelona-e1070.jpg
What Nouvel set out to accomplish in creating such a structure was fully realized by not only
him but the workers who built the tower as well as the entire city of Barcelona which gained
such high prestige in the construction and implication of one of the most ambitious projects to
ever come to the Iberian peninsula in Nouvel’s Agbar tower. The Agbar tower is for the two
reasons above, but not limited to them, one of the most awe inspiring, and creative buildings in
all of Europe and it remains to be seen what kind of structure can be brought to Spain that would
ever come close to knocking it off as the head of creative and beautiful, and not to mention
majestic, as well, buildings in all of Europe and even the world.
The Agbar tower is occupied in its own right by a water utility company, which set to
give the building a design that would be unique and also serve and represent what the building
was to be about upon completion. For this reason, the Agbar tower was created with a sort of

8. water geyser design (according to Nouvel himself) which is mimicked by the phallic shape of the
object as being water rising from the ground through a geyser and exploding into the sky in a
million colors that are represented by the LED’s. The LED’s are not meant to be just that,
however, and are also meant as an artistic touch to an artistic building, one that converts its
nature to that at night when it shows its colors using thousands of light emitting diodes. These
lights not only give the tower a unique beauty which is unrivaled across the Barcelona skyline
but it also allows for the conservation of energy. Green technology which at its heart is about
building efficient buildings and at the same time using less electricity is a growing movement in
the United States. However, in the construction off this tower the light emitting diodes were used
as a way to conserve energy at the same time create a white rinse and brilliance which would
make the tower stand out from the rest of the buildings.
As can be seen from the image above, the Agbar tower is one of the more imposing structures
when looked at from the point of view of an average bystander, and pedestrian on the ground. It
has the kind of power that will make someone immediately look up and take a gaze at this
breathtaking structure which jets out of the ground, just as it wants to, like a geyser of water
penetrating the peaceful, blue, Catalan sky.
The Agbar tower is constructed, in itself, mostly of the basic building material of
concrete. It may seem strange that such a majestic and beautiful building is made of this, but it is.
The concrete was made to last and be durable, and the building relies on it for its integral
structure build that is so crucial to the tower standing. Now, it is probably obvious to say that the
Agbar tower itself is not made of exposed concrete; otherwise it would not have the look that it
has. The Agbar tower relies on a heavily artistic and majestic design, and this could not be
accomplished with what concrete in itself could accomplish in terms of providing this artistic and

9. high tech look. For this reason, different materials are employed on the outside of the Agbar
tower which gives it its majestic and awe inspiring look that differ from the structures innards
that are quite boring in comparison but are crucial to the structural integrity of the Agbar tower
itself. The outside of the Agbar Tower is not concrete; otherwise it would take quite the artist and
the builders to make it what it actually is and looks like. If it were pulled off using concrete, it
would probably require some sort of trick photography, or amazingly large decal cast on its
outside to make it look the way that it actually does when viewed in person, or even in a picture
of the tower itself that may be stumbled upon by someone. The outside of the Agbar tower is
constructed using painted sheet metal strips, which in totality number to be 59,619 in number.
(Vienne, p. 52) This large number of painted sheet metal strips is also interesting in that it comes
in all different colors and sizes. This provides the building with the artsy nature that it set out to
have in the first place and really does a great job of actually making it a work of art more than it
is an amazing feat and accomplishment of architecture. These painted sheet metal strips reflect
the sun during the day dazzling the eyes off all the people will behold it and at the same time
cool off the building considerably. The sheer amount of sheet metal required for this project is
another interesting fact all in itself, but it should not take anyone by surprise as the Agbar tower
is, in itself, a very large building. Not all of the pieces of sheet metal were the same size and
shape, as can be probably inferred by something of this size and magnitude. The shapes of the
Agbar tower sheet metal differ, as can be imagined. Some were painted, and straight sheet metal
strips, while others were curved and were meant to wrap around, or cover small areas. This had
to be done due to the shape of the tower, which is curved towards the top and circular at the top.
(Johnson, p. 17) The shape came to Nouvel after he realized (according to an interview) that not
all towers had to be the same and that the actual idea of a tower could be innovative in nature. He

10. wanted to reinvent the tower and he did a good job in pulling that feat off. The architect wanted
to create an organic building versus the rigid and linear designs that are so common in
skyscrapers across the world. To create this design required an enormous amount of innovation
and the use of different materials and especially the sheet metal to allow it to curve as in the case
of organic materials in nature. The tower itself is not so much a feat of sheet metal, though, in its
construction, but is also one of concrete as well. The tower is held together by two cylinders of
concrete that are separated from each other and sort of filled in to make the building go up and
provide content in it. It is the outer cylinder which provides the building with its majestic look
that lights up the Barcelonian skyline and is really what makes the Agbar tower the Agbar tower.
The Agbar tower is an expression in itself of Barcelonian culture, and Catalan expertise
in its construction, design, and execution in how it was built. The structure is a testament to the
tenacity, and determination of Nouvel, as well as of the workers in the construction and design of
the project that ultimately became the world famous Agbar tower known throughout the globe.
Piercing the veil of historical and traditional Spanish art, but providing enough beauty and
majesty to fit in, the Agbar tower added, in the construction of itself, a new facet of Spanish art
and design that will surely be incorporated into future building projects that will come out of
Spain. Built with extensive manpower, extensive and copious amounts of steel, concrete, wiring,
and other materials like glass, and with building materials that were used and employed to match
the imposing size of the building, too. Cranes, cherry pickers, and extensive elaborate
scaffolding was used to make the building go, and it was obviously a tough project to complete,
so every one of these things had to be employed and coupled with the materials to make sure that
the Agbar tower could be pulled off and built in the way that it was to look the way it currently
looks to the average person. It is impossible not to notice it. If I can inject my own opinion into

11. this writing, I would say that that was another goal that Novel set out to achieve when he made
the Agbar tower, and he achieved that goal with flawless perfection, and the Agbar tower
absolutely lights up the air and generates excitement in the area that it is in and provides joy to
the Barcelonians who get to call it their own when they look up in the sky and see it.
If the Agbar tower were constructed today, it could be pulled off, but maybe something
so prominent and protrusive on the skyline, in a place like New York for example could be
pulled off in another city besides Barcelona, which adds to the skyline there better than it would
in a dense, congested city where it might not be as noticed. But, that is what makes the Agbar
tower so great in its design and execution and its erection. In a city like New York, where there
are a lot of skyscrapers and other buildings to compete with, the at the tower could never be
realized. The reason being, that they would not be many people would be willing to invest in the
building that was so unique and different from the others. Because the Barcelona's felt that they
needed to create something that was different and we talked about for many years to come is part
of the reason why the architect was given so much freedom in creating something that was truly
unique and interesting. The tower stands as a testament to the risks that the investors and the
government took in giving the architect the freedom to create something that was truly amazing
and different. The other problem with creating a tower of this size and magnitude is the sheer
cost of something like this and with a design like this it would not be feasible to produce
something in the current economic climate. The fact that it jets up like a blue and silver sword
and pierces the night sky with its lights or the daytime with its sheer look is what makes it so
great and inspiring to artists and architects all the world over. In a modest city like Barcelona, it
is what was needed at the time to make it such an inspiring work of art. It is of the opinion of the
writer of this piece that it would not be so simple to put that together in a larger city, so a

12. reconstruction may not be so effective in another major city, but would have an effect in one
without a major and prominent skyline, maybe such as Phoenix or Tucson in the state of
Arizona. The technology certainly is there to make a building like this and to possibly make a
building even more majestic and true to form than the Agbar tower is, but it may not have the
same effect and without that, it is not what the Agbar tower is to the people of Barcelona. If it
were theoretically recreated again, I think that it would mimic something about the city that it
was in. For example, if it was built in San Francisco, California, it might look something like a
sailboat like another famous structure has as its basis of design, or it might have some different
colors in it. San Francisco has much more of a brick and Victorian feel to it, so it might mimic
those designs in its constructions. Secondly, I can imagine that it would also light up the night
sky and sort of announce itself to the entire city as being a structure worth looking at and worth
being taken a picture with or a picture of it to send to friends back home. it would have to be a
defining structure of a city and I think, and know that it could be pulled off somewhere in the
United States with the correct amount of brain power, and will to make such a structure. The
Agbar tower could be created again, with a large labor force, but it would be a stretch since the
original Agbar tower stands on its own as a pioneer and leader of the architectural world and an
inspiration to architects and artists from Iberia, to Europe, to the rest of the globe. It stands on its
own as one of the major accomplishments of our times in terms of architectural design.
In conclusion, the Agbar tower stands alone as an inspirational artwork of Barcelona that
also happens to double as a magnificent skyscraper that jets into the sky in a manner that lets
everyone know where it is at. This beautiful piece of work provides majesty and prestige to
Barcelona. The Agbar tower is a great piece from Nouvel and is interesting from its design to its
structure to the inner workings of this magnificent piece. It can never be made again in the

13. manner it was and stands alone as the sole gem of the Barcelona skyline for the reason of
determination, design, and planning by Nouvel and everyone involved in the project of the Agbar
tower.

14. Works Cited
Heller, Steven, and Véronique Vienne. 100 ideas that changed graphic design. London:
Laurence King, 2012. Print.
Johnson, Scott. Tall building: imagining the skyscraper. Los Angeles, Calif.: Balcony,
2008. Print.
"Torre Agbar - Torre Agbar information and pictures." Go There Guide - Travel Guide.
N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. <http://www.gothereguide.com/torre+agbar+barcelona-place/>.
Copyright by http://www.acemyhomework.com/