The Torre Agbar: a triple award winner

The Torre Agbar has won the Awards for Excellence 2006 organised by the ULI (Urban Land Institute) in both the European edition held last June in Milan and the world edition, which was held on 19th October in Denver, Colorado, United States.

In the European edition, the Torre Agbar shared the prize for the Awards for Excellence with four other European projects. Of the twenty-seven projects from twelve countries competing this year in Europe, nine finalists qualified. Of these nine, the five winning finalists were selected and announced during the Spring Conference of ULI Europe, held on 23rd May in Milan.

Winning projects in Europe:

New Milan Fair Complex, Milan, Italy		Potsdamer Platz Arkaden, Berlin, Germany		Tour CBX, Paris la Défense, France		Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, Amsterdam, Netherlands

The Awards for Excellence are one of the most prestigious prizes in the real estate industry. Created in 1979, these awards acknowledge those projects which have made optimal use of the land for development or the construction of a major project and have created a strong impact on the community or city in which they are located.

The Awards for Excellence are held in the US, Europe and Asia. The winners of these three editions then competed in Denver to win the Global Awards for Excellence 2006 and Torre Agbar, one of the Milan winners, was also one of the candidates to win this worldwide prize. It was finally one of the five winners in the final edition.

The winning projects worldwide were:

New Milan Fair Complex, Milan, Italy		The Presidio Trust Management Plan, San Francisco,US		Prudential Center Redevelopment, Boston,US		Singapore Conservation Programme, Singapore

The Torre Agbar was distinguished in the European and Global Awards for Excellence 2006 in recognition of:

- Its design
- Its importance for the development of the new 22@ district in the city of Barcelona
- Its efficient land use
- The project’s sensitivity towards society and the environment
- Its economic and financial success


The International Highrise Award

The Agbar Tower has also received another important award – the 2006 International Highrise Award. The Award is made by the City of Frankfurt and DekaBank in partnership with the Deutsches Architektur Museum (DAM). The first award was made in 2004.

The International Highrise Award came about as a way of giving recognition to the construction of tall buildings, considered by their creators to be a great opportunity for innovation both in terms of architecture and design. To mark the Award, Agbar Tower will form part of the High Society exhibition that will take place in the DAM in November this year.

The two previous winners of the Award have been:

De Hoftoren (2004) , The Hague		The Olympic Stadium (2005), Berlin