Design: Residence / Valencia
Standing tall
The Spanish city’s first residential high-rise signalled that Valencia was on the up. Six decades later, it remains a status symbol.
The marketing material captured the mood. “Valencia is on the move,” declared the bold typeface, as developers drummed up the hype for the city’s first residential high-rise. “A building can be a symbol of optimism,” it continued. “In fact, Torre Ripalda is just that.” A photo of the soaring concrete structure, in its first phase of construction, gave a glimpse of a novel new building in the normally conservative port city. A loquacious kicker invited the burgeoning middle class to be part of “an utterly modern beginning that speaks to a dynamic…
