HecticArt Wonderful Architecture Work

[Wolf]

Spanish skyscraper going up — but without an elevator?

If you are thinking of investing in an apartment at the Intempo skyscraper in Benidorm, Spain, be prepared to bring some good walking shoes: Its builders forgot a working elevator, says the Spanish news site El Pais.

According to a story surfaced on Gizmodo, the luxury high-rise tower, which started construction in 2007, was originally designed for 20 floors. But the the developers decided to push the design to include 47 floors with 269 homes. When completed, it will be Benidorm’s highest building at 650 feet.

There seemed to be just one important oversight: In going up to 47 floors, designers forgot to take into account room for an elevator shaft. El Pais reports that the architects on the project resigned in May 2012.

The building “represents a long story of incompetence,†according to El Pais. The coastal town had a building boom that led to the nickname “Beniyork†for its skyline of high-rises.

But then the recession hit. Intempo’s developer, which had once advertised the building as the “banner of the future,†and the bank that provided the loan for construction both went bankrupt in 2009. The building has cost €100 million so far.

“We had heard reports on the elevator last week when we listed the building to generate advance interest,†wrote Terry Walker, a spokesperson for Walker Property Spain’s London office, in an email to Yahoo News.

“In the light of the other problems that have been overcome at Intempo, we would be confident that a solution can be found,†Walker said.

Already 35 percent of the apartments have been sold to international buyers — the site describes the abodes as "Dubai style luxury." The building is 95 percent complete, and it is expected to be done by spring 2014.

Expect, too, a built-in exercise regime.

 

[Casual Fan]

Which floor did you buy on?

 

[HecticArt]

I wouldn't have done it that way. :no:

Believe you me, there's no way I'd forget the elevator. If I'm doing the construction observation, I'm not taking the stairs. In the states, you'd never get a building permit without one.

They should run a couple of glass elevators on the side of the thing.

 

[Wolf]

I wouldn't have done it that way. :no:

Believe you me, there's no way I'd forget the elevator. If I'm doing the construction observation, I'm not taking the stairs. In the states, you'd never get a building permit without one.

They should run a couple of glass elevators on the side of the thing.

Certainly, how are people going to lug the very big items, via crane or an helicopter to the top? I wouldn't carry a piano through 40 flight of stairs.

 

[Casual Fan]

I wouldn't have done it that way. :no:

Well, getting down isn't a problem...

 

[semipenguin]

They can put them on the outside :idea:

 

[HecticArt]

Certainly, how are people going to lug the very big items, via crane or an helicopter to the top? I wouldn't carry a piano through 40 flight of stairs.

Buildings rarely got taller than 5 stories before the elevator was invented. Any more than that, and people couldn't do all of those stairs every day. I'm shocked that they let the building make it past the foundation without someone stopping them and figuring out where to put the elevator. Spain is not a third world country.

 

[Casual Fan]

Spain is not a third world country.

Are you sure?

 

[semipenguin]

Spain is not a third world country.

They'd be First World, but they take too many siestas

 

[HecticArt]

Are you sure?

If they have a third world ranking based on building trades inadequacy then sure. They would be right behind all of those countries that have been in the news lately for letting buildings collapse on the heads of their citizens.

 

[Casual Fan]

They would be right behind all of those countries that have been in the news lately for letting buildings collapse on the heads of their citizens.

If you want to pay 29 cents more for your Nikes, then YOU go over and fix the roof, Karl.

Me, I want cheap Nikes like every other God-fearing American. Let the free market work its magic! The Invisible Hand!

 

[JHDK]

I wouldn't have done it that way. :no:

They should run a couple of glass elevators on the side of the thing.

i was thinking the same thing. seems like the easiest fix.

Certainly, how are people going to lug the very big items, via crane or an helicopter to the top? I wouldn't carry a piano through 40 flight of stairs.

haha in holland the stairwells are so small that even on 2 story houses they have hooks at the top, coming from the roof to haul things up that way.

 

[blyons200]

Spain is not a third world country.

Are you sure?

With the way their economy is in free-fall it may be a 3rd world country soon enough.

Seeing the utter incompetence involved with this no way I would step a foot near that building elevator or not! If they forgot an elevator what else did they forget?

 

[HecticArt]

With the way their economy is in free-fall it may be a 3rd world country soon enough.

Seeing the utter incompetence involved with this no way I would step a foot near that building elevator or not! If they forgot an elevator what else did they forget?

Amen to that. It's going to be empty anyway.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

With the way their economy is in free-fall it may be a 3rd world country soon enough.

Seeing the utter incompetence involved with this no way I would step a foot near that building elevator or not! If they forgot an elevator what else did they forget?

If they put an elevator on the side, what confidence do you have that they have that they have taken the weight balance into account. The whole building may tip over.

 

[memebag]

I'm going to get political.

I started to post a rant about "this is why we need government regulation", but stopped when I thought maybe this was funded by a government, and perhaps market capitalism would have refused to invest in a 47 story building without a working elevator. So I did a little research and found that this thing was, in fact, privately funded. So here's the rant.

This is why we need good governments. They can, at their best, force private entities to play by rules that benefit everyone. Good building codes save lives, property and, ultimately, profits. We find it easy to complain about them because we are sitting in sound buildings that don't burn down every five years and have elevators that work so well we never think about the hundreds of feet of empty space just beneath our feet every day as we are gently moved between floors. But visit someplace with crap building codes and your perspective will change. Hopefully.

 

[Casual Fan]

I'm going to get political.

I started to post a rant about "this is why we need government regulation", but stopped when I thought maybe this was funded by a government, and perhaps market capitalism would have refused to invest in a 47 story building without a working elevator. So I did a little research and found that this thing was, in fact, privately funded. So here's the rant.

This is why we need good governments. They can, at their best, force private entities to play by rules that benefit everyone. Good building codes save lives, property and, ultimately, profits. We find it easy to complain about them because we are sitting in sound buildings that don't burn down every five years and have elevators that work so well we never think about the hundreds of feet of empty space just beneath our feet every day as we are gently moved between floors. But visit someplace with crap building codes and your perspective will change. Hopefully.

I think we can discuss government. What I think we don't want is discussions of partisan politics. And having said that, your post is spot-on. Deregulation is great until the airplanes start to back up.

 

[HecticArt]

Building codes are a matter of public safety. The responsibility of protecting, life, health, and property. Generally, they do a great job for what they do, even with a little unnecessary red tape that comes along with them.

How often do we hear about a hundreds of textile workers trapped in a factory fire in America, or dozens of people squashed in a building collapse here? If you hear about something like that, it's usually because someone violated a building code, that they probably knew they shouldn't.

The few instances that come quickly to mind, are night clubs where the doors were blocked by security.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Building codes are a matter of public safety. The responsibility of protecting, life, health, and property. Generally, they do a great job for what they do, even with a little unnecessary red tape that comes along with them.

How often do we hear about a hundreds of textile workers trapped in a factory fire in America, or dozens of people squashed in a building collapse here? If you hear about something like that, it's usually because someone violated a building code, that they probably knew they shouldn't.

The few instances that come quickly to mind, are night clubs where the doors were blocked by security.

In the case of a fire, this is the safest building in the world as nobody can do what they aren't supposed to do and take the elevator.

 

[Casual Fan]

Did anybody inspect DRC before we opened the doors? I've noticed the fire extinguishers are actually cardboard cylinders painted red with rubber hoses duct taped to them.