The Office Tower by GCA Architects

The final jewel in the crown at a business park near Barcelona leaves high-rise clichés behind. Designed by GCA Architects, The Office Tower in Plaza Europa 34 is a glazed volume of 21 floors, broken into four staggered cubes.

GCA Architects’ dynamic, new 21,000m2 tower is the latest addition to the Plaza Europa 34 business park, which was designed by the late Barcelona architect Albert Viaplana between 2007 and 2008. Set between the city and the Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport, the business park is one of the fastest-growing business neighbourhoods in the city’s metropolitan area.

A positive vision

The tower embodies the boundless creativity and optimism of the Tech Vision theme. With LEED® Gold certification, The Office Tower in Plaza Europa 34 promises a better future.

All the tower’s facade typologies share an arrangement of vertical aluminium slats, bringing continuity to the overall design. At the rear is a slim aluminium volume holding the core and shared services, while the other facades comprise glazing framed by metallic bands.

On the main façade, the architects chose a matt, smooth powder coating for the aluminium, using Axalta’s Alesta® AP Architectural Polyester in a warm, Umbra Grey colour (AE30017702220). This adds to the building’s contrast with the neighbouring white, glazed office blocks. Meanwhile, the facades that embrace the terrace above each cube are differentiated from the main facade with darker glass.

Founded in 1986, the Barcelona- and Madrid-based firm GCA Architects has a strong track record in futuristic office towers. Another highlight is Plaza Europa 34’s Torre Puig, which they designed with Rafael Moneo and Lucho Marcial in 2014.