Woermann Tower: The Virtual Forest and Variable Geometry

Woermann Tower - spectacular low-angle worm's-eye view

Masterpieces of Architecture and Engineering: #23 Woermann Tower, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

How to make a 60-meter building look like an anthropomorphic sculpture in motion without compromising its stability?

Located on the Isthmus of Guanarteme, that singular "neck of land" connecting the peninsula of Gran Canaria with La Isleta, the Woermann Tower stands as a beacon of contemporary architecture. What was once a tongue of dunes and sand is today the stage for a technical feat where deconstructivism ceases to be an aesthetic intention and becomes a structural engineering challenge. This installment dissects how architects Ábalos & Herreros, alongside the mastery of BOMA, managed to materialize a "virtual forest" that redefines the skyline of Las Palmas.

The tower is not born from a desire for form, but from a desire for landscape. We wanted to build a 'virtual forest' that would mediate between the sea and the city. — Iñaki Ábalos and Juan Herreros

Cross-section and technical elevation of the Woermann Tower detailing the eccentricity of the central concrete core and structural load transfer

Consecutive structural floor plans of the Woermann Tower demonstrating variable geometry and column misalignment due to volumetric interlocking

The Structural Challenge: The Core as a Backbone

The great achievement of BOMA's engineering was allowing the formal freedom of Ábalos & Herreros without resorting to massive solutions that would penalize net usable area.

Eccentric Core: A high-strength reinforced concrete central core was designed to concentrate circulations and services. This core acts as a rigid mast that absorbs not only vertical loads, but also the torsional moments generated by the swaying of the floor plates.

The challenge at the Woermann was managing eccentricity. When a building 'moves' or leans, the center of gravity shifts, and the concrete core must work not only in compression, but by compensating for torsional moments. — Robert Brufau (BOMA)

Transfer Geometry: To achieve the inclined "torso" effect, the columns do not always align vertically. Deep transfer girders were utilized on strategic floors to transfer loads from the offset columns back to the core and the foundations, allowing the tower to "dance" on its base.

Other Issues in the Series:

ISSUE #01 | Burj Khalifa: The Wind Code
Stepping technique: how geometric variation tames vortices at 828 meters.

ISSUE #02 | CCTV Tower: Defying the Void
Beijing's most ambitious cantilever and the structural steel diagrid-grid that supports this continuous loop.

ISSUE #07 | Porta Fira Towers: Ruled Geometry
Analysis of Toyo Ito's system: how the repetition of straight elements generates an organic envelope.

ISSUE #13 | Aqua Tower: The Liquid Sculpture Defying the Wind
Studio Gang: An algorithmic optimization feat where undulating terraces "confuse" the wind and columns "walk" to defy gravity.

View Full Series Roadmap →

Construction detail of the Woermann Tower facade section specifying the unitized curtain wall system and the slab anchorage

The Facade: Control Skin and Digital Art

The envelope of the Woermann Tower is not a simple enclosure; it is a solar filtering system and a multilingual aesthetic statement.

Smart Curtain Wall: A laminated glass system with high thermal performance is utilized. The innovation lies in the integration of a brise-soleil that is not an external add-on component, but forms part of the skin's modulation.

The Oehlen Layer: In collaboration with the artist Albert Oehlen, silk-screened fritted motifs were applied to the glass panes. These patterns do not only fragment light to reduce thermal heat gain, but "dematerialize" the building's mass, helping it blend with the sky and sea of Las Palmas.

My intervention on the facade glass is not decoration; it is a layer of information that alters the perception of the volume to merge it with the Canarian sky. — Albert Oehlen

Woermann Tower view from the Las Canteras beach promenade

Sustainability and Integration into the Isthmus

The project leverages its strategic location within the geographical narrowing between Las Canteras Beach and the Puerto de la Luz to optimize its passive performance.

We were looking for an 'other' beauty, not one of geometric perfection, but one of commitment to the site. The facade is not a skin; it is a brise-soleil that vibrates with the Atlantic light. — Ábalos & Herreros

Woermann Tower - Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Programmatic Section with Building Uses (Hybrid Architecture)

Hybrid Architecture: By combining residential, administrative, and cultural uses above a public square, the building functions as an urban micro-ecosystem that minimizes commuting, aligning itself with European sustainability goals.

Venturi Effect and Ventilation: The arrangement of the openings and the tower's orientation take advantage of the constant Atlantic breezes of the isthmus to promote cross-ventilation, drastically reducing dependence on active HVAC systems.

The Urban Node: Public Space and Connectivity

We cannot overlook that the avant-garde tower does not "land" aggressively; instead, it folds back to yield space to the citizen.

The Tropical Square: The Portuguese cobblestone pavement and the medium-height vegetation create a shaded microclimate. It is an example of tactical urbanism where the ground floor is liberated to act as a pedestrian connector between the port and the beach.

Digital Integration: The operations of the mixed-use hybrid building (library, offices, housing) require an intelligent management of accesses and flows, turning the Woermann Tower into a precursor to the Smart Building in the Canary Islands.

Woermann Tower view from Las Canteras beach

Materiality and Atlantic Resilience

An analysis of how to combat corrosion and the saline environment of the Isthmus.

High-Strength Concrete: The use of specific mix designs to withstand the marine atmosphere (exposure class IIIc), vital to ensure that the building's "backbone" does not suffer premature carbonation.

Photometric Control Glass: Oehlen's silk-screening technique is not just art; it is a physical barrier against salt spray, facilitating the maintenance of a curtain wall that is exposed to the constant erosion of the northeasterly winds.

The structure cannot be a rigid grid; it has to be a transfer system. We had to design deep transfer girders to allow the columns to 'dance' according to the aesthetic intent. — Robert Brufau (BOMA)

Technical floor plan of the Woermann Tower showing the distribution of the eccentric core and the perimeter arrangement of columns

Technical Specifications: The Project's DNA

Official Name	Woermann Plaza and Tower
Architects	Ábalos & Herreros + Casariego-Guerra
Structural Engineering	BOMA / BAC ECG (Brufau, Obiol y Moya)
MEP Engineering	PGI Group
Collaborating Artist	Albert Oehlen (Digital silk-screening on facade)
Height / Floors	60 meters / 17 floors above ground level
Total Area	25,967 m²
Style / Typology	Deconstructivism / Hybrid Architecture
Location	Isthmus of Guanarteme, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain

Pedestrian perspective from the public square of the Woermann Tower highlighting urban integration and envelope design

Industrial Specifications and Partners

OFFICIAL TECHNICAL DATASHEET

Technical Specialty	Official Partner / Vendor	Site Execution and Supply
Site Execution and Construction	Ferrovial Agromán	Main contractor in charge of complex materialization, subcontracting management, and monolithic concrete structure execution.
Chemical Glass & Interlayer	Solutia / Eastman	Supply of structural PVB interlayer sheet technology from the Vanceva range, essential for UV filtering and acoustic control of the curtain wall.
Advanced Glass Processing	Cricursa	Advanced manufacturing, bending, and tempering of over 2,000 m² of laminated glass panels embedding the artistic patterns of the facade.
Envelope Systems	Custom Modular Profiles	Development and extrusion of the curtain wall system tailored to the tower's geometry under the architectural team's guidelines.
Structural Concrete	Marine Mix Design Class IIIc	High-strength concrete formulation with specific additives to withstand environmental aggressiveness and carbonation caused by saline environments.

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View of the Isthmus of Guanarteme from a nearby hotel with the Woermann Tower absorbing all the urban movements of the city at this bottleneck point

The building absorbs the urban and climatic stresses of this narrow point of the city, integrating seamlessly and positively with the surrounding marine landscape.

The Isthmus as a Canvas: Where Technique Meets Identity

The Woermann Tower is not just a high-rise building; it is the architectural response to a territorial question. Situated at the Guanarteme bottleneck, the work acts as a dynamic connector that joins two opposing maritime realities through a geometry that, while appearing fragile due to its tilt, is a marvel of rigidity and technical control. It is, in essence, proof that sculptural and iconic architecture can simultaneously be deeply respectful of the landscape that hosts it.

Conceptual sketch and volumetric diagram of the Woermann Tower showing the interlocking blocks and the geometric shifting of the floor plans

The Woermann Tower aims to embody the illusions, desires, and fantasies of a society seeking to find its place between nature and development. — Ábalos & Herreros

Awards and Recognitions

2005 | International Design Competition: First Prize and project commission for the master planning of the isthmus.
2005 | SOLUTIA Design Award (Paris): International recognition for technological innovation and photometric control of its facade.
2005 | MoMA Exhibition (New York): Work selected for the prestigious international exhibition "On-Site: New Architecture in Spain".
2005 | Manuel de Oraá y Arcocha Award: Canary Islands Architecture Prize.
2007 | Mies van der Rohe Awards: Nominated and Finalist for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture.
2008 | FAD Awards: Finalist Project in the Architecture and Outdoor Interventions category.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Woermann Tower designed by Ábalos & Herreros:

Why is the tower said to have an "anthropomorphic" figure?
Because its design is inspired by the twisting of a human torso, avoiding a rigid vertical extrusion to generate an organic movement that appears to "peer out" into the landscape.

What real function does the artistic silk-screening on the facade glass serve?
Beyond Albert Oehlen's aesthetic contribution, it functions as a passive solar filter that reduces glare and interior thermal heat gain without sacrificing ocean views or natural daylighting.

How do Atlantic winds affect such an asymmetrical structure?
BOMA's rigid core is oversized to absorb the lateral forces and twisting moments that the wind exerts on the building's shifted faces.

What is a "deep transfer girder" in this context?
It is a concrete beam of exceptional dimensions that allows the structural system to "collect" the load from columns that do not reach the ground and redirect it toward stable bearing points.

Why is its location on the isthmus important?
Geographically, the isthmus is a bottleneck for winds and urban stresses. The tower leverages this for natural ventilation and to act as a visual landmark between two waterfronts.

AECO Architecture & Engineering Glossary | Woermann Tower, Las Palmas

Interlocking Geometry: The intersection of independent geometric blocks that merge into a single unit. This volumetric displacement breaks the vertical prism and generates cantilevers that force the shifting of structural columns.

Eccentric Core: A vertical reinforced concrete structure offset from the building's central axis. It functions as a rigid mast to house utilities and absorb wind loads and horizontal shear forces.

Torsional Moment: The twisting stress experienced by the structure due to the asymmetrical action of wind on its variable geometry. It is counteracted by the high rigidity and inertia of the central core.

Deep Transfer Girder: A concrete beam of exceptional depth used as a structural transfer element to "collect" columns misaligned by volumetric interlocking and redirect their loads back to the core.

Brise-soleil: A passive protection element against solar radiation. In the tower, it is unbundled and integrated directly into the curtain wall modulation instead of being installed as an external add-on component.

Laminated Glass (PVB): Technical glazing featuring Polyvinyl Butiral interlayers (Vanceva range). It provides structural safety against breakage, port-area acoustic attenuation, and ultraviolet filtering.

Photometric Control: A vitrified ceramic printing technique (Albert Oehlen's artistic silk-screening) that functions as passive pixels, reducing the solar factor $g$ and protecting the glass pane from salt spray erosion.

Marine Mix Design Class IIIc: A high-strength concrete formulation with specific additives and a low water-to-cement ratio. It prevents chloride penetration and premature carbonation within the harsh atmosphere of the isthmus.

Venturi Effect: A physical phenomenon where fluids accelerate when passing through a constricted area. The tower leverages the natural compression of the wind across the Guanarteme isthmus to drive passive cross-ventilation.

Hybrid Architecture: A high-density typology unifiying disparate programs (residential, office, commercial, and a public square) within a single volume to optimize energy flows and minimize urban commuting requirements.

Series: Avant-Garde Constructions | jmhdezhdez.com

Credits and Documentation

José Miguel Hernández Hernández

International benchmark in the technical analysis of iconic and sculptural architecture. Specialist at the intersection of engineering, aesthetics, and the avant-garde. Author of the bilingual technical books Turning Torso – Santiago Calatrava and Famous Constructions / Construcciones Famosas.

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