Culture

Madrid’s Gate of Europe: Discover the City’s Most Striking Towers

Madrid is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, with many parks and boulevards, ancient monuments, grandiose cathedrals and majestic palaces. Not only does history attract many tourists to the Spanish capital — but the unique objects of modern urban planning also surprise and delight. For example, the symmetrical sloping structures built at the end of the last century in Madrid, called the “Gateway to Europe”, quickly became a tourist attraction.

Construction history

The falling twin towers that appeared in the capital are not an oversight of the builders, as sometimes happens, skyscrapers were built according to a clearly calculated and complex project. Their creators are engineers from America-John Burgi and Philip Johnson. Talented and creative young people wanted to do without right angles and typical designs, to create something unusual and original.

American architects submitted their project for approval, it was approved, and in the main city of Spain, construction of a unique structure began. The foundation was laid in December 1989, and the construction of both buildings was completed in September 1994 simultaneously, as work on the two sites was carried out in parallel.

The grand opening took place in 1996. In the year of completion, the buildings were the second largest in Spain (the tallest were located in the Canary Islands). They have given Madrid its charm, creating an amazing contrast between modern buildings and numerous ancient palaces and monuments.

Architectural and design features

Gate of Europe, Madrid

Not everyone knows that these are the only sloping skyscrapers in the world today. The Spaniards are very proud of this architectural wonder. Falling structures are inclined to each other by 15 degrees, each building is 26-storeyed. The top of the towers, with their total height of 115 meters, extends beyond the base by 30 meters, which is half the width of the building. If you compare them with the famous leaning Tower of Pisa, they have a larger slope and are three times higher.

This is clearly visible if you follow the decorative plates on the facade. The diagonal of the side face is in a vertical position, it connects the fulcrum with the opposite corner at the top of the building. The buildings are built in a new technique of constructing inclined structures in relation to the vertical axis of structures. In practice, this method is called “a la Leaning Tower of Pisa”.

Huge concrete counterweights installed in the basements keep buildings from collapsing and falling, while powerful steel beams act as frames and provide stability. A new original solution — beams run along the outer part of the facade, encircling it around the perimeter. The architecture of the complex has not been repeated to this day.

The exterior design consists of vertical and horizontal sections covered with metal. An important role in the design of the exterior appearance is played by the color of the facade material — white steel, thin bright red metal lines and dark gray glass. Few people know how to solve the problem of lifting people to the upper floors, of which in each building 26-to the 13th floor there is one elevator, from the 14th floor passengers are transferred to another.

Jose Carlos Sotelo, Madrid

Between the buildings there is a monument made by famous Spanish architects Carlos Ferreira and Manuel Manzano Moniz. The monument is dedicated to the politician and lawyer Jose Carlos Sotelo. It is believed that the assassination of General Sotelo in 1936 marked the beginning of a bloody civil war. The monument, made of white marble, creates a single ensemble with twin towers. It was installed in 1960. In 1996, the unique structures received the award for outstanding finds in the construction field.https://experience.tripster.ru/partner/v3/?

Destiny

Gate of Europe, Madrid

Located in the northern part of the city, they symbolically indicated the entrance to the city, although over the past two decades the capital has grown beyond their borders. In the bright and spacious interior, there are numerous office spaces of various companies. The place is popular — the “Gateway to Europe” has become a part of the life of the capital. It is especially popular with artists who organize interesting installations, vernissages, and colorful performances on the site several times a year.

Directors are also not far behind, and even before the construction was completed, they shot the “black” comedy “Day of the Beast” and other feature films and documentaries. In December, the main Christmas tree of Spain is decorated here, around which many adults and children always come on the most revered Catholic holiday. The left tower (viewed from the center of Madrid) is called the Door to Europe 1, while the opposite tower is called the Door to Europe 2.

Gate of Europe, Madrid

There are helipads on the roof. They were painted in different colors (blue and red) so that the pilots would not make a mistake when landing.

A little bit about the owners of the “twins”

Initially, the structures were owned by the Kuwait Investments Office (KIO), which invested tens of millions of euros in the construction. According to the company’s abbreviation, they were simply called “KIO Towers”.

Subsequently, Kuwait Investments Office sold the building to the Bank of Spain Caja Madrid and real estate agency Realia. This is evidenced by the logos on the facades of the upper floors of both buildings. Since then, the name has changed to a more poetic one — “Gateway to Europe”.

At the center of a financial scandal

The construction was not without a criminal investigation. The construction of the falling skyscrapers required significant financial investments, which amounted to millions of euros. The funds were allocated by KIO for engineering assistance from Spanish specialists.

Huge amounts of money went through the company’s financier Javier De La Rosa. Obviously, the person could not resist the temptation and appropriated part of the funds allocated for construction. Ros was accused of embezzling 375 million euros, and a criminal case was opened. The money belonged to Kuwait Investments Office and its Spanish subsidiary Group Torres. The top manager was sentenced to 19 years (according to other sources — to 14).

An interesting touch in this high-profile scandal — the financier promised to destroy the towers after being released from prison. I wonder if he will be able to carry out a terrible threat? In addition to Ros, other actors who became participants in multimillion — dollar fraud-Manuel Prado and Colon Carvajal-were also under investigation, and they were also punished according to the law.

Where they are located and how to get there

Gate of Europe, Madrid

Puerta de Europa is located in the center of Madrid on Plaza de Castilia on Paseo de la Castellana Boulevard, Madrid, Spain.

How to get:

  • for sightseeing, it is convenient to take the metro stop Plaza de Castilia (Castile Square).
  • you can use the bus, routes №№ 5, 7, 42, 49, 70, 124, 129, 147, 174. Stop at Plaza de Castilia.

Madrid is the most beautiful European city. Here you can spend days walking along the old narrow streets or boulevards, built up with ultra-modern buildings. There are many interesting and unique things in the capital, including the only falling skyscrapers in the world.

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