Following a 15-year construction period marred with setbacks, the approximately 650-foot, M-shaped Intempo skyscraper has been completed in the Spanish resort city of Benidorm.
The 47-story apartment building, consisting of 256 units, is now the tallest residential skyscraper in the European Union and the tallest of any type in Spain outside of Madrid. It is also one of the world’s tallest buildings in a city with fewer than 100,000 residents. Its twin towers also feature Spain’s fastest elevator, which rises at a rate of about 13.8 feet per second, able to reach the top floor in 52 seconds, according to The Guardian. The towers are connected by a prominent cone-shaped structure, which houses the penthouse units.
It seems like a miracle that Intempo has been fully realized. Designed by architects Pérez-Guerras and Olcina & Radúan, the design of the building was officially presented in 2006 and work began in 2007. It was originally scheduled for completion in 2009, however, progress was halted due to the 2008 financial crisis, which had a huge impact on the real estate sector in Spain. The project later resumed and was almost completed in 2014 but was interrupted again by the bankruptcy of its developer.
There was also controversy regarding unsafe working conditions for the builders. At this point, the architects had stepped away from the project. In 2018, Intempo was acquired by SVP Global, which has managed the undertaking up to its current completion.
The Intempo has almost 43,000 square feet of common areas, including an approximately 2,624-square-foot pool on the ground floor. There’s a second pool on the 46th floor, which offers expansive views of the city. The 47th floor hosts more communal amenities, including a cocktail bar.
So far, 100 of the building’s 256 apartment units have been sold, which is lower than expected as reported by El País. The pandemic is to blame for that. However, sales are expected to pick up this summer now that it is complete.
18 Comments
Filed under WTF
One of the ugliest buildings I have ever seen.
There's a metaphor in the ultra-expensive penthouse looking like it's drilling down through the standard residential units and looking like it's about to hit a void which would cause it to come crashing down.
Can anyone list one positive comment about this building?
no
I am positive that I will never have to look at it as I go about my life.
It provides housing options for the underserved community of the ultra wealthy.
Another positive is that we can hope a faction of the world's ultra wealthy buy up the condos in the top crown and that it comes crashing down when fully occupied.
I thought the positive is that it was finally finished after 15 years.
MARVEL HQ circa 1975
In fairness, it's just as much a WTF building as most of the starchitect buildings that get praised. The only difference is its geometry is legible.
Don't strain yourself tying yourself into rhetorical knots trying to start a quarrel.
The legibility of the geometry was the mistake.
The legibility of the building is an even bigger mistake
The visibility of the building is the biggest mistake.
In the anything-goes days before the crash of 2008, the building was bank-funded some $90m with the developer only putting $5k.
Architects Pérez-Guerras and Olcina & Radúan resigned, but it is difficult to get any back story or details on that.
Today's building is brought to you by the letter—
This thing is just silly.
It's like God's plumb-bob crashed into some shoe boxes.
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