Montjuic Tower

Montjuic Tower

SANTIAGO CALATRAVA

Location : Barcelona, Spain. Date of completion : 1992. Client : National Telephone of Spain. Architect : Santiago Calatrava. Scheme : Communication tower and surrounding gardens. Photography : David Cardelus

The Montjuic telecommunications tower was erected as one of the symbols of the spirit of the Barcelona Olympics. The idea prposed by Santiago Calatrava materialized as a white figure 119 m (390 ft) in height. Its inspiration was antropomorphic, its attitude one of offering. The coloumn is inclined at an angle of 17” to the vertical, which is the angle of the summer soltice in the city, so that the tower became a monumental sundial.

A semicircular corona completes the tower’s natural imagery. The Montjuic tower had to perform various functions :

Firstly, it had to be a node in the fixed radio communication service, as part of the infrastructure in support of small capacity short range radio links;

Secondly, it had to provide connections for automatic mobile phone services;

Finnaly, it had to be a substitute for the old Montjuis Radio Station.

Once the hectic Olympic games were over, it was no longer use, and the tower has now become just a decorative element of the city landscape.

(adapted from The World of Contemporary Architecture XX)