The Torre Agbar (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈtorə əɡˈbar]) is a skyscraper / tower located between Avinguda Diagonal and Carrer Badajoz, near Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes, which marks the gateway to the new technological district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was designed by French architect Jean Nouvel in association with the Spanish firm b720 Fermín Vázquez Arquitectos and built by Dragados. The Torre Agbar is located in the Poblenou neighbourhood of Barcelona and is named after its owners, the Agbar Group, a holding company whose interests include the Barcelona water company Aigües de Barcelona.
The tower measures a total of 50,693 m2 (545,650 sq ft), of which 30,000 are offices, 3,210 technical facilities, 8,132 services, including an auditorium, and 9,132 square metres for parking. It cost €130 million to build.
It opened in June 2005 and was officially opened by King Juan Carlos I on 16 September 2005. It is one in a collection of High-tech architecture examples in Barcelona.
The building is owned by the multinational group Agbar which has its corporate headquarters in the building and that takes up most of the floors, renting the remainder. The Agbar Tower was acquired in March 2010 for 165 million euro, after reaching an agreement with its former owner, the investment group Azurelau. Azurelau previously had bought the property in mid-2007.
According to Jean Nouvel, Torre Agbar is intended to recall the shape of a geyser rising into the air. It was inspired by Montserrat, a mountain near Barcelona. In an interview, he described the tower as having a phallic character. As a result of its unusual shape, the building is known by several nicknames, such as "el supositori" (the suppository), "l'obús" (the shell) and some more scatological ones. It is also somewhat similar in shape to Sir Norman Foster's 30 St. Mary Axe in London, often called "the Gherkin". It has 30,000 m2 (320,000 sq ft) of above-ground office space, 3,210 m2 (34,600 sq ft) of technical service floors with installations and 8,351 m2 (89,890 sq ft) of services, including an auditorium. The Agbar Tower measures 144.4 m (473 ft 9 in) in height and consists of 38 storeys, including four underground levels. (Sourced from Internet)
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This beautiful sculpture by Alexander Calder is installed at the left entrance to the Fundacio Joan Miro - Joan Miro Foundation. The museum is located on the hill called Montjuïc in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The inception was in 1972. It has a width of 320cm, length 500cm and a height of 354cm.
Alexander Calder (July 22, 1898 – November 11, 1976) was an American sculptor known both for his innovative mobiles (kinetic sculptures powered by motors or air currents) that embrace chance in their aesthetic, his static "stabiles", and his monumental public sculptures. Calder preferred not to analyze his work, saying, "Theories may be all very well for the artist himself, but they shouldn't be broadcast to other people.
The smaller artwork at the right entrance is Personnage (1972) by Joan Miró, Register Number FJM 13006. It is a bronze sculpture measuring 200 x 120 x 90 cm.
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The Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família is one of the the tourist attractions in Barcelona.
According to Wikipedia, the construction of this "Church of the Holy Family" began in 1882, when Gaudí subsequently took over the project in 1883 he transformed it with his architectural and engineering style—combining Gothic and curvilinear, Modernisme forms with ambitious structural columns and arches, and including a rich variety of Christian symbols in the design. Gaudí devoted his last years to the project and at the time of his death in 1926, less than a quarter of the project was complete. Sagrada Família's construction progressed slowly as it relied on private donations and was interrupted by the Spanish Civil War—only to resume intermittent progress in the 1950s. Construction passed the mid-point in 2010 with some of the project's greatest challenges remaining and an anticipated completion date of 2026—the centennial of Gaudí's death. The basílica has a long history of dividing the citizens of Barcelona—over the initial possibility it might compete with Barcelona's cathedral, over Gaudí's design itself, over the possibility that work after Gaudí's death disregarded his design, and the recent possibility that an underground tunnel of Spain's high-speed train could disturb its stability.
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The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is a museum of modern and contemporary art designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry, and located in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain. The museum was inaugurated on 18 October 1997 by King Juan Carlos I of Spain, with an exhibition of 250 contemporary works of art. Built alongside the Nervion River, which runs through the city of Bilbao to the Cantabrian Sea, it is one of several museums belonging to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and features permanent and visiting exhibits of works by Spanish and international artists. It is one of the largest museums in Spain.
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation selected Frank Gehry as the architect, and its director, Thomas Krens, encouraged him to design something daring and innovative. The curves on the exterior of the building were intended to appear random; the architect said that "the randomness of the curves are designed to catch the light".
The museum is seamlessly integrated into the urban context, unfolding its interconnecting shapes of stone, glass and titanium on a 32,500-square-meter (350,000 sq ft) site along the Nervión River in the ancient industrial heart of the city; while modest from street level, it is most impressive when viewed from the river.
The interior "is designed around a large, light-filled atrium with views of Bilbao's estuary and the surrounding hills of the Basque country". The atrium, which Gehry nicknamed The Flower because of its shape, serves as the organizing center of the museum.
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The orange umbrellas are extensions from the waterfront restaurants and cafes. The floodlights have just been turned on, imparting warm light on the sand which harmonizes with the mauve colour in some of the evening clouds and in contrast to the ever deepening blue of the sky. A pair of seagulls happen to be winging just above, adding a bit of motion to the otherwise serene beach scene.
In the middle left is W Barcelona, a 5-star hotel still in construction. Platja (beach) Barceloneta is facing Mediterranean Sea.
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