Barcelona has premiered dozens of office buildings in recent decades, but none has managed to surpass in exterior beauty the DGarden 662 complex on Avenida Diagonal, better known as Edificio Planeta or as the former headquarters of Banca Catalana. Built in 1978 by architects Josep Maria Fargas and Enric Tous, this unique building, an emblem of Catalan rationalism of the second half of the 20th century, was truly ahead of its time by projecting an iconic vertical garden that became a reference throughout Europe.
More than 40 years later, the building, with its characteristic planters with hanging plants, continues to be the emblem of the business district of the Catalan capital, especially after the rehabilitation process of the property promoted by the international financial giant Blackstone, which has owned it since August 2018. Four years ago, the American fund acquired the building for 210 million euros from the Lara family, owners of Grupo Planeta, and has now invested 10 million euros to give it a facelift and bring it up to date, in a process that began in 2019 and will culminate in 2023.
The rehabilitation and repositioning project of DGarden 662 ---the name adopted by the building after changing hands--- has been led by Rivoli Asset Management, the real estate firm that manages the different office complexes that Blackstone owns in Spain. In Barcelona, in addition to DGarden, Blackstone owns Torre Tarragona and is finalizing the completion of an office complex located at Calle Álava 111, in the 22@ district. The value of these three office properties exceeds 450 million euros.
Surrounded by lush gardens that look better than ever, the complex housing Planeta's corporate headquarters has 27,352 square meters of offices distributed in three octagonal modules of 9 floors each, joined to form a triangle. In addition, it has an adjacent three-story module at the building's entrance, which was formerly the auditorium of Banca Catalana and now houses the headquarters of the assisted reproduction clinic Institut Marquès. The perimeter of each of the nine floors of the striking main complex is surrounded by two belts of planters that total 3.2 kilometers of vertical green areas. To ensure the complex always looks its best, a full-time gardening officer works at DGarden, accompanied by a landscaper, a high-altitude pruning team, and a maintenance brigade.
The building is 90% leased ---with a total of thirteen tenants--- and has only 2,400 square meters available (in modules ranging from 400 m² to 1,000 m²) which are expected to be occupied before the end of 2022 after the renovation of the interior of all floors. Grupo Planeta is the main tenant of DGarden, occupying 15,000 m2, 55% of the total, between the third and ninth floors. Other companies located in the complex include Mediabrands, Antena 3, Banco Mediolanum, Antena 3 Advertising, Huawei, and Matinex; on the ground floor there is also a BBVA office, an entity that absorbed the former Banca Catalana. In total, about 1,500 people work in the complex.
"We are in negotiations with several companies and in the coming months, if all goes well, the building will be at 100% occupancy," says Ignacio Fonseca, founding partner of Rivoli Asset Management. According to Fonseca, the rent at DGarden "is above the average prime rent in Barcelona, as it has more representativeness than competing buildings, better qualities and services thanks to the rehabilitation and repositioning project" that is about to be completed.
The building's facelift has so far focused on the remodeling of interior spaces and common areas, with a total renovation of the double-height hall and reception, and of the elevators, corridors, restrooms, and lobbies on each floor. LED lights have been installed to improve sustainability, and ceilings and floors have been upgraded. In addition, new common areas have been created such as a working lounge, an auditorium, and changing rooms, and parking spaces have been installed for scooters, motorcycles, and electric cars. After the renovation, DGarden 662 will obtain the Leed Gold sustainability certificate, although it aims to achieve the Leed Platinum classification later with further improvements.
Rivoli commissioned the interior design project to the Barcelona architecture firm GCA Architects, founded by José Juanpere and Antonio Puig, and highly specialized in luxury hotel design, and high-end homes and offices. "We chose GCA because we want our offices to offer the experience of a hotel. The idea has also been to transfer the wow effect that the building provokes to the interior and to make the experience of the people who work in it as pleasant as possible," explains Fonseca in an interview with The New Barcelona Post.
"This action is not only an improvement for the property, but for the city as a whole. This building was very advanced for its time, both in design, and in architecture and engineering. It is a true work of art, a living example of the integration of nature and architecture," emphasizes Fonseca.
Once the interior renovation is completed, in the coming months the rehabilitation project will affect the exterior access corridor area. The modernization of the building's entrance on Diagonal has been agreed upon with the Barcelona City Council, while respecting the aesthetics and personality of the original project by Fargas and Tous. The idea is to beautify the main entrance, change the pavement, and renovate the fountain that welcomes visitors. This phase of the works will finish by the end of the year, but in 2023 some more actions will be carried out to culminate the project.