Gate of Europe
Puerta de Europa
General information
Status	Complete
Type	Office
Location	Pº de la Castellana 189/216, Madrid, Spain
Coordinates	40°27′59″N 3°41′16″W / 40.46639°N 3.68778°W / 40.46639; -3.68778Coordinates: 40°27′59″N 3°41′16″W / 40.46639°N 3.68778°W / 40.46639; -3.68778
Construction started	1989
Completed	1996
Height
Roof	115 m (377 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	26
Design and construction
Owner	Bankia and Realia
Main contractor	FCC
Architect	Philip Johnson, John Burgee
Developer	Kuwait Investment Office
Structural engineer	Leslie E. Robertson Associates, RLLP, New York

The Puerta de Europa towers (Gate of Europe or just Torres KIO) are twin office buildings in Madrid. The towers have a height of 114 m (374 ft) and have 26 floors. They were constructed from 1989 to 1996. The Puerta de Europa is the second tallest twin towers in Spain after the Torres de Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

They were designed by the American architects Philip Johnson and John Burgee, built by Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas^[1] and commissioned by the Kuwait Investment Office (hence their initial name "Torres KIO" or "KIO Towers"). Leslie E. Robertson Associates, RLLP New York (LERA) provided structural engineering services. Each building is 115 m tall with an inclination of 15°, making them the first inclined skyscrapers in the world. They are located near the Chamartín railway station, on the sides of the Plaza Castilla bus station, north from the Paseo de la Castellana and near the Cuatro Torres Business Area.

After the receivership of Grupo Torras, KIO had to sell the buildings, which are now owned by Bankia and Realia.

The west tower has a rooftop helicopter pad outlined in blue; the east tower has a red one.

They played a key role in the 1995 movie The Day of the Beast, whose climax took place on one of the then nearly-completed towers. The towers were also shot in the song sequence "oru koodai sunlight" in the popular Tamil film Sivaji.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Puerta de Europa

• Computer generated image of the Golden Top Crown of the Fuente de Europa
• dudas

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