Edificio Planeta is one of the most unique buildings in the world and one glance at the building is enough to find out why. The building’s exterior balconies are covered with plants of different kinds which seem as if Edificio Planeta is its own forest.
The building is the headquarters of Editorial Planeta, one of the biggest publishers in the Spanish-speaking countries. The publishing company was founded in 1949 and until 2017, they had their headquarters in Barcelona.
Edificio Planeta was actually the headquarters of Banca Catalana at the beginning. Its architects Tous and Fargas wanted to design a unique picturesque building.
They decided to implant an outdoor plant curtain system which was really rare at the time. Although there were some buildings with green façades in the world, they did not match the scale and the size of Edificio Planeta and its exterior.
The building became the first vertical garden in Europe at the time, specifically in 1976. Barcelona officials estimate that there are 3,8 kilometers of plant and green covering the building. The structure quickly became an icon of Avenida Diagonal and Barcelona.
A closer look at the plants of the building’s exterior.
Moreover, Edificio Planeta also draws attention to the issues of ecology and global warming. Every year, the world loses more and more green space to concrete. Therefore, a company building having a plant-based exterior is proof that concrete and green space can coexist. Despite its unique style and its status as a landmark of Barcelona, Edificio Planeta changed hands many times for various reasons.
In 2001, the Lara group bought the building but the group had to give it as collateral during the economic crisis in 2008. After a decade, the American fund Blackstone bought the building for 210 million Euros. However, today, the fund wants to sell the building as well.
