| Gate of Europe | |
|---|---|
| Puerta de Europa | |
| General information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Type | Office |
| Location | Pº de la Castellana 189/216, Madrid, Spain |
| Coordinates | |
| Construction started | 1989 |
| Completed | 1996 |
| Height | |
| Roof | 115 m (377 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 26 |
| Design and construction | |
| Owner | Caja Madrid 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 in 1996 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 Torres KIO fraud case, KIO had to sell the buildings, which are now owned by Caja Madrid 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.
