Sea & Sky

An up-close look at the elevator system serving the W Barcelona Hotel in Spain and other notable jobs by FAIN Ascensores

Despite his employer FAIN Ascensores, SA, providing all the latest GPS technology to pinpoint his routes, chances are elevator technician Carlos Alberto Balcazar had no trouble finding the W Barcelona Hotel, also known as the Hotel Vela (Sail Hotel), due to its distinct shape and prominent location in the Port of Barcelona. Designed by renowned architect Ricardo Bofill, the 98.8-m-tall, 28-story luxury hotel is in the city’s Barceloneta District overlooking the Balearic Sea. Balcazar visited on a mid-December weekday in 2022 to service some of the elevators. Your author was also there, attending the International Elevator & Escalator Symposium (IEES). During her stay, she rode the elevators scores of times, admiring their comfort, speed, stylish design and striking flourishes like the glittering, colorful elevator hall in the hotel lobby.

Both hallways and elevators are done in shades of browns and deep reds. The hallways and elevator bank on the eighth floor, where your author stayed, are resplendent in red from floor to ceiling and look down into a vast atrium. FAIN Ascensores has been maintaining the elevators on that floor (and all 19 units serving the hotel) for 14 years under a contract with Starwood Hotels & Resorts, part of Marriott International, Inc. W Barcelona opened on September 1, 2009. Its appearance and vibe, however, have a neon, 1980s feel — but not in a bad way.

“Mitsubishi and FAIN enjoy a very good image in the city thanks to the magnificent material provided by the Japanese company but also due to the monitoring of the construction and quality of subsequent maintenance.” — FAIN Ascensores

FAIN tells ELEVATOR WORLD Bofill’s original plan was for a sail-shaped tower rising 168 m, or roughly 50 stories. However, the city council “forced the architect to modify the project so as not to alter the silhouette of Barcelona, which was to be crowned by the two towers of the Olympic Village,” FAIN states. The height was then brought down to 98.8 m so as not to steal the thunder of Mapfre Tower and Hotel Arts tower — the two tallest buildings in the city at 157 m each in Port Olímpic (Olympic Port), the maritime neighborhood of the Old City of Barcelona.

Although the W Barcelona is shimmery, beautiful and seems to rise from and reflect the sea, not everyone is happy with the landmark. It is still pointed out on some bicycle tours as an eyesore, speaking to the lingering reverberations of opponents who believe the tower alters sea and wind currents and is out of compliance with Spanish coastal law that prohibits building fewer than 100 m from the coast. The W is a mere 20 m from the sea. But now, it is there, generating tax dollars and employment — both directly and indirectly — for area residents. With a ballroom overlooking the beach, it proved an ideal venue for the 2022 IEES.

Relationship With Mitsubishi Electric Is Catalyst

FAIN Ascensores has been the exclusive distributor of Mitsubishi Electric high-speed elevators, ramps and escalators in Spain since 2001 when a commercial agreement was signed. The partnership led to FAIN carrying out other elevator projects for emblematic properties in Spain, such as the Iberdrola Tower 41-story office skyscraper in Bilbao designed by César Pelli and Torre Realia BCN and Hotel Porta Fira, 24- and 28-story towers, respectively, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Toyo Ito for Realia in Barcelona’s Granvia L’Hospitalet de Llobregat suburb. Both can be seen on the way to or from Josep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport. These projects, as well as the W Barcelona, are served by 4 m/s Mitsubishi Electric elevators. The W project marked the first time for such high-speed elevators in Spain.

FAIN Ascensores says, in the case of the W Barcelona, FAIN’s experience with Mitsubishi was key to being selected by a team that included Bofill and a construction joint venture consisting of Gerardo Alvira and Joan Casas of FCC and Agostino Sasso of OHL. FAIN says its goal was to provide “elevators operating according to the needs of the hotel chain, both for guests, cargo and other uses, with an innovative design and reliability.” FAIN continues:

“In addition, it should be remembered that Barcelona has always been at the forefront of high-rise construction in Spain, with a multitude of office and hotel developments. For their part, Mitsubishi and FAIN enjoy a very good image in the city thanks to the magnificent material provided by the Japanese company but also due to the monitoring of the construction and quality of subsequent maintenance.”

Elevator System of the Hotel

The elevator system at W Barcelona consists of:

For guests:

• Four NexWay high-speed elevators with 1050-kg capacity making 27 stops for the tower and the Hotel W skybar
• Two Elenessa elevators with 1050 capacity traveling at 1.75 m/s making eight stops for the lower areas of the hotel

For service and cargo:

• Two NexWay elevators with 1050-kg capacity traveling at 2.5 m/s making 29 stops
• One FAIN elevator with 1800-kg capacity traveling at 1.6 m/s making 29 stops
• One FAIN freight elevator with 2500-kg capacity making two stops

For other uses:

• Two Elenessa elevators with 1050-kg capacity traveling at 1 m/s making two stops for the ballroom
• Two Elenessa elevators with 1275-kg capacity traveling at 1 m/s making three stops for the restaurant
• Two Elenessa elevators with 1050-kg capacity traveling at 1 m/s making two stops for the kitchen
• One FAIN elevator with 630-kg capacity traveling at 1 m/s making two stops for the spa
• Two FAIN elevators with 630-kg capacity traveling at 1 m/s making four stops for the parking garage

Numerous Awards

Despite criticism, the W Barcelona has become a shimmering symbol of the city. FAIN tells EW it has received numerous awards in recent years, including Best Lifestyle Hotel at the national level at the World Travel Awards 2022, Best Luxury Hotel in Architecture and Design in Spain by the World Luxury Awards in 2019 and the Best Hotel Exterior Architecture designation at the Prix Villégiature Awards 2010. Meanwhile, its elevators keep chugging along 14 years later thanks to frequent, careful upkeep driven by the latest technology from FAIN. The units have not been modernized since the hotel opened, but redecorating is currently being considered, FAIN says.

Reference

[1] wikipedia.org/wiki/W_Barcelona