The Bofill Taller de Arquitectura tower is composed of four circular silos that house commercial spaces, offices and flats that are served by a central square core. The circular floor plan allows the development of different activities thanks to its morphology which favours flexibility and union.
The texture of the concrete and the proportions of the façade elements envelop the building in an industrial and mysterious atmosphere. Terracotta floors in dark tones and oxidised concrete walls complement the project, generating palatial images in the interiors.
Papuli Tower by Bofill Taller de Arquitectura. Rendering by Bofill Taller de Arquitectura.
Project description by Bofill Taller de Arquitectura
In the mid 1970s, the silos at La Fábrica (The Factory) in Barcelona stopped storing cement and were transformed to house the Taller de arquitectura. Today, the vast concrete cylinders take on another purpose, lending their form to a skyscraper in Tirana, stretching 190 metres above the capital and hosting various office, commercial, and residential programmes.
Papuli Tower is essentially made up of four elongated "silos" (circular in plan) serviced by a central core (square). This geometric purity has a certain beauty to it – the circles as universal symbols of togetherness, their harmonious symmetry around the square – while allowing for the same flexible, practical floor plates enjoyed at the Taller’s headquarters. A sense of theatre and mystery is also carried across, through exaggerated proportions and similar interior palettes to those of the factory, including deep shades of terracotta flooring and oxidised concrete walls.
But where the tower starts to really differ from its precedent is in the detailing, particularly the refined facade texture and fenestration, which combine to create a building that feels animated and contemporary, yet full of original industrial character.
This project nods towards Tirana’s history as the most heavily industrialised region in the country: at the beginning of the 16th century, a bazaar was established to manufacture everything from silk and leather fabrics, to ceramic and precious goods.
