“This is not a tower. It is not a skyscraper in the American sense of the expression: it is a unique growth in the middle of this rather calm city.”
The building is a very relevant example of how both artificial and natural light can work together. Torre Agbar becomes increasingly visible in the darkness due to its 4500 LED lights which illuminates the building, transforming it from a set of offices into a piece of art.
Furthermore, the seemingly random placement of 4000 red rimmed windows helps the colourful patterns to take on different shapes and movements. The north and the south faces of the building have different window patterns, with the southern side showing less windows while the north is opened up to the light. Adding to this pattern of colour on the exterior, the interior of the offices are lined with multicoloured cabinets helping the buildings patterns and colours to become even more exciting. Nouvel comments,
“The surface of this construction evokes the water: smooth and continuous, but also vibrating and transparent because it manifests itself in coloured depths - uncertain, luminous and nuanced.”
The colours and patterns of the building are a very important aspect which, coexist with the use of both artificial and natural light. With 4400 windows and 56,619 transparent and translucent glass plates, the louvers (tilted windows) are slanted at different angles calculated to deflect the direct sun light. Nouvel explains how the light helps the building to interact with the Spanish city’s skyline,
“The uncertainties of matter and light make the campanile of Agbar vibrate in the skyline of Barcelona: a faraway mirage day and night; a precise marker to the entry of the new diagonale that starts at Plaça de las Glorias. This singular object becomes a new symbol for an international city.”
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