Hotel Arts
SOCOTEC's professional team has carried out the structural design and site management of the construction project of the Hotel Arts in Barcelona.
General information
Date: 1988 - 1993
Client: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) - Bruce John Graham
Location: Barcelona - Spain
Photo copyright: Gettyimages y ©SOCOTEC Spain
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Project summary
The building stands at the junction between Calle Marina and Avenida Litoral at Port Olímpic, the gateway to the Barcelona, Spain. It was built as part of a collaborative project by American architectural teams Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) and Frank Gehry, and is an example of the technological architecture extensively developed by the firm.
Project details
The architectural complex as a whole is made up of a series of office blocks, parking spaces, a retail area, a sports club and a leisure centre all located on the ground floor, as well as five upper floors and two basement floors, spanning around 50,000 m2 in total. The 165 m tall tower is made up of two basement floors, a ground floor and 45 upper floors.
The structure is based on the idea of expressing overall stability through the facade, with its triangular motifs and articulated cross-sections that align with the ceiling of each floor. The structure’s main braced frames are placed at intervals at every fourth floor. This arrangement is complemented by a number of lighter rigid core frames around the central section of each floor, guaranteeing localised stability between each level of the bracing.
