César Pelli conceived Torre Sevilla as a beacon. The intervention on its 37th floor stems from that same idea: a landmark in the urban landscape from which, for the first time, the city can view itself from a height never before accessible to the public.
The challenge of the commission is twofold. On one hand, the 37th floor is at +167 meters, exposed to constant wind and noise from the tower’s HVAC systems. On the other, Torre Sevilla is visible from across the city, and any intervention at its summit must be invisible from the street. The project is literally measured from six different points in the city center, at distances between 300 and 1,750 meters, to verify that the new structure remains hidden behind the existing cornice.
The solution is a roof made of structural glass beams with a 15° slope, calculated to disappear below the cornice line when viewed from medium distances. The metal structure supporting it hangs from the central core and is the same color. The result of this design strategy is that nothing is visible from the outside, while from the inside, everything is transparent.
The interior also works with the character of the place. In the flooring, recessed brass markers point to the city’s and territory’s landmarks (the Giralda, the Alcázar, the Alameda, the Alamillo) with LED lighting that facilitates the reading of the route. The vegetation is typical of Seville’s courtyards: jasmine, bougainvillea, night-blooming jasmine, and bitter orange trees. Scents and colors that bring the city to the observation deck, 167 meters high.