Torre Emperador

The Torre Emperador Castellana, simply known as Torre Emperador and formerly named Torre Espacio (Spanish for Space Tower) is a skyscraper in Madrid, Spain, measuring 230 metres (755 feet) tall and containing 57 floors. It is currently the fourth tallest building in Madrid.

Torre Emperador
View from south-east angle
General information
TypeOffice
LocationPº de la Castellana 259, CTBA, Madrid, Spain
Coordinates40°28′44″N 3°41′12″W
Construction started2004
Completed2008
OwnerGrupo Emperador S.A.U
Height
Roof230 m (750 ft)
Technical details
Floor count51
Lifts/elevators27 (Made by Schindler Group)
Design and construction
Architect(s)Pei Cobb Freed
DeveloperInmobiliaria Espacio
Structural engineerMC2 Estudio de Ingenieria
Main contractorOHL
References
[1]

Construction

During its construction on the night of 4 September 2006, a fire broke out on the 43rd floor of the tower. The structure of the building suffered no critical damage, as the fire had only affected some construction materials.[2]

The structure was topped out on 19 March 2007. That night, Madrid mayor Alberto Ruiz Gallardón attended a ceremony with fireworks to commemorate the event. With its 230 m, it also became the tallest structure in Spain at that time, surpassing the telecommunications tower Torrespaña. Torre de Cristal, one of the neighbouring skyscrapers at the Cuatro Torres Business Area, surpassed the height of Torre Espacio in April 2007.[3]

Rotating model of Torre Emperador with floors colour-coded by designation. In the SVG file, hover over a floor to highlight it.

The building project was featured on the Discovery Channel's Build It Bigger series due to the skyscraper's unique form and shape.

It was designed by American architect Henry N. Cobb,[4] a partner in the firm Pei Cobb Freed, and built by OHL.[5] In 2009, it became the new home of the British Embassy in Madrid.[6] In 2010, the Embassy of Canada too moved to Torre Espacio.[7] The Australian and Dutch Embassy are also located in the building.[8][9]

Since 2015, it has been owned by Grupo Emperador S.A.U, owned by Chinese-Filipino entrepreneur Andrew Tan.[10][11] Six years after the acquisition by the Filipino-Spanish company, the skyscraper got its name changed to Torre Emperador (or Torre Emperador Castellana), named after the popular Filipino brand Emperador Brandy, as they announced in a Facebook post.[12][13]

See also

References

  1. "Torre Espacio". Skyscraper Center. CTBUH. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  2. Torre Espacio Fire
  3. Terra, 16 May 2007.
  4. Pei Cobb Freed & Partners website
  5. "OHL will earn 6.54 million to build Torre Espacio". Expansion.com. 27 March 2004. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  6. Official website for the British Embassy in Spain
  7. "The Embassy of Canada inaugurates its new chancery in Torre Espacio". Government of Canada. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  8. "Australian Embassy in Madrid". spain.embassy.gov.au. Retrieved 2017-01-28.
  9. (in Dutch)Ambassade in Madrid Koninkrijk der Nederlanden
  10. Gonzales, Iris. "Andrew Tan buys Madrid skyscraper". Philstar.com. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  11. "AURA News Real Estate". www.auraree.com. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  12. Malasig, Jeline (2021-09-30). "From Espacio to Emperador: Madrid skyscraper owned by Filipino tycoon gets name change". Interaksyon. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  13. Gaborne, Kenneth (2021-09-25). "Andrew Tan's Madrid skyscraper renamed Torre Emperador Castellana". Retrieved 2021-10-04.
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