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This strangely shaped 47-floor building is the highest residential building in Spain and one of the few high rise buildings in the world in the shape of an arch.
The high rise is located just inland from Poniente Beach in Benidorm, Alicante, the city with, reputedly, more high rise buildings per capita than any other city in in the world.
The two towers are about 61 feet apart, and the cone at the top starts at floor 38. There is a commonly held view that the M shape is a tribute to the city of Madrid following a 2004 terrorist attack, but this has never been confirmed by the architects Pérez-Guerras Arquitectos & Ingeniero.
Construction was completed in 2014, yet as of 2016 the building remains unoccupied, after the 2008 financial crisis saddled the developers with monetary problems.
The towering M can be seen from most places in Benidorm, south of the old town, and from the Autovia del Mediterrano (AP-7), which bypasses the city, or the N-332, which runs parallel to it. Another great place to see the building and appreciate its scale is from Benidorm Island, about a mile offshore.
Contributed by Atlas Obscura contributor Dr. Alan P. Newman
If you liked this, you’ll probably enjoy Atlas Obscura’s New York Times best-selling book, which collects more than 700 of the world’s strangest and most amazing places: Atlas Obscura: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders.
