Torre Glories origins 

Formally, the tower was commissioned and owned originally by the multinational group Agbar, which has its corporate headquarters in the building and which took up most of the floors, leasing the remainder.

Albeit unlike, traditional skyscrapers, the Torre Glories rises from two elliptical, concrete cylinders, one inside the other, the Torre Glories measures 142 metres high and is covered by two “skins”. Firstly, the innermost is an aluminium plate painted with earth tones, blues, greens and greys. Secondly, the outermost is a transparent and translucent wall made up of nearly 60,000 sheets of glass.

Indeed, thanks to this double façade, an air gap is created that allows control of heating and ventilation. Significantly, the glass used are pieces of a brie-soleil, a system that controls the sun’s rays depending on the outside temperature.

the light show

Surprisingly, the building has a designed lighting system, by Yann Kersalé, with more than 4,500 LED lamps that have made it one of the city’s most distinctive landmarks. Some of the 60,000 membranes that cover the façade contain photovoltaic cells enabling the building to store its own energy.

Therefore the LED lighting system makes it possible to create an infinite number of colour combinations and shapes across the entire façade. They have made the Glòries Tower the focus of many a celebration.

change of name

Consequently, the Agbar Tower was acquired in March 2010 for 165 million euros, after reaching an agreement with its former owner, the investment group Azurelau. Earlier, Azurelau had bought the property in mid-2007. However, the purchase price was not disclosed.

Finally, in 2017 it was purchased by Merlin Properties real-estate group and it was renamed as Torre Glòries after the adjacent square of the same name.

Going up

Fortunately for us, in the last few year the Torre Glories has been opened up to the public. It is now possible to visit the panoramic deck for unobstructed 360° views of Barcelona.Firstly