A FUTURISTIC development designed by the world famous architect behind the stunning new Real Madrid stadium has been gutted by fire just weeks before being inhabited.
The €130 million luxury housing project had been in development for nearly 20 years.
The La Querola d’Ordino project, in Andorra, was literally going through its finishing touches when the blaze razed it to the ground.
Designed by Josep Ribas and Pritzker Prize winner Jean Nouvel, it was praised as one of the most energy-efficient and ‘nature-friendly’ residential complexes in Europe.
Constructed largely from stone and slate, it nestled sensitively into the breathtaking Ordino valley.
The development consisted of 51 homes – with no two alike – ranging from 345 to 690 square metres.
Priced between €2.38 million and €6.25 million, Barcelona-based Ribas described the apartments as being ‘habitable sculptures’.
His co-designer Nouvel described it as ‘a monolith… and topographic feature that clings to the mountain”.
The main facade is composed of more than 35,000 slate pieces of varying sizes and angles, each individually placed on an aluminum frame. No two pieces are alike.
Inside, oak flooring covers floors, walls, and doors from floor to ceiling, created a visual continuity that conveyed warmth and sophistication.
The fire broke out in one of the blocks and rapidly embraced the whole project of seven buildings over a plot of 6900 square metres.
The fire was finally extinguished on September 23, with no injuries reported.
A total of 14 fire crews and 34 firefighters worked to control the flames and prevent them from spreading to the nearby forest.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined and the building is almost completely destroyed.
Fire and police investigators continue to probe the cause.
Ribas from Ribas & Ribas design studio was behind the extraordinary alterations of Real Madrid’s Bernabeu stadium.
The award-winning company has designed many of Spain’s top buildings over the last 50 years.
The partner in this project Jean Nouvel was behind the design of many famous museums, including the Louvre in Abu Dhabi and the celebrated Torre Glories in Barcelona.
Click here to read more Property News from The Olive Press.
