Gate of Europe

Chamartín, Spain

Exterior only

Visible from the street; the inside is private.

Find out more

The Gate of Europe towers, twin postmodern office buildings designed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee, rise 114 meters with 26 floors near Madrid's Plaza de Castilla in the Chamartín district. Constructed between 1989 and 1996, these structures are distinguished by their pioneering 15-degree inclination—the first inclined skyscrapers in the world. Originally commissioned by the Kuwait Investment Office and nicknamed the KIO Towers, they were built by Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas with structural engineering by Leslie E. Robertson Associates. Located near Chamartín railway station and north of Paseo de la Castellana, the towers are Spain's second-tallest twin structures. Each building is crowned with a helicopter pad—blue on the west tower, red on the east—and currently are owned by CaixaBank and Realia.