Intempo towers days away from completion

THE vertical growth of Benidorm is about to reach a new milestone that goes well beyond the borders of Valencia.

Its Intempo twin tower structure is already up to 54 stories, and now only a few metres remain to top it off.

At 180 metres, it will be the tallest residential building in Spain. Cajamadrid’s Crystal Tower, and the Torre Espacio in Madrid, are higher, but in the Spanish capital, and are offices.

The Intempo will now be added to the Gran Hotel Bali, at 186 meters, the tallest hotel building in the peninsula, and along with the Lugano Tower (158 meters), will form the new sky line of Benidorm; a landscape with three of the 10 tallest buildings in Spain.

The Valencia tourist capital again confirms its hegemony in spectacular skyscraper architecture, having 23 of the 100 tallest buildings in Spain.

The Intempo construction site is like a small town, employing approximately 120 workers direct, 23 of who have been there six years.

More workers are employed via a swathe of rolling contracts with subcontractors, fitting out the tower’s 269 units. A climb to the top in one of two forklifts is takes five minutes.

The ascent is so great that as the summit is reached there is a noticeable drop in temperature.

In two weeks the structure will be totally complete. Thankfully, during the construction of a structure there has not been a single fatal accident. “We were lucky,” said the chief works, David Martinez, who faced a highly technical work to join the two towers at their summit; the effect is impressive, reminiscent of a stretched Arc de Triomphe.

It is a project with an initial estimate of €34 million, but will probably end costing in the region of €50 million. Wind is a major issue, as at such a height gusts of 60km per hour are not uncommon.

This has been exacerbated by the unique twin tower design of the structure, where extensive wind tunnel tests checked that the two towers move in tandem under whatever conditions they face.

By Paul Deed