Discovering the beauty in design of Twin Tower in Madrid, Spain

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Under commission of the Kuwait Investment Office (KIO), the American architects Philip Johnson & John Burgee were responsible for the design of Puerta de Europa I and II, two twin office towers, located in Madrid, Spain. Their design is spectacular, contemporary and they are placed in a key location-one of Madrid’s most important boulevards called Paseo de la Castellana.

The architects built the first inclined skyscrapers in the world and they received help from Leslie E. Robertson Associates with the structural engineering and the construction was supervised by Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas. The towers stretch 30 meters over the boulevard. The angle of inclination is of 15 degrees and the skyscrapers rise to 114 meters.

There is also a counterweight that is necessary to counteract the forces that could overturn the towers. It’s a 60x10x10 meter concrete counterweight. The structure of the buildings is made of steel so it can offer stability. The steel structure can be noticed by passers by.

The main structure is combined with stainless steel while the secondary structure is clad with red metal. The space between the structural elements has a dark reflective curtain that has charcoal mullions. Even if the towers are alike there is one element that differentiates them. The west tower has a blue helipad on the roof and its eastern twin has a red helipad.