![]() “Previously, the wealthiest occupied the beachfront properties, but here you can see the sea from every building.” “Although it is compared to Manhattan, there is only one skyscraper here for every four there,” says Escobedo, adding that it is a more egalitarian resort than most. Getty ImagesĮscobedo uses a packet of cigarettes to illustrate the thinking behind the decision to grow upwards – if you lay it down on its biggest surface area, you have a model of construction that is no different to anywhere else, but if you balance it on its smallest surface area, you have skyscrapers that allow for land to be kept free for green zones, parking and pools. ![]() “More appreciated, as often happens, outside Spain than within.” The view from the lookout point in the old town. ![]() “The Benidorm model was totally cutting-edge because it was a model for the whole city, with a vision for the future, something that was unusual at that time,” says the architect José Manuel Escobedo, a member of the city’s Urban Landscape Council who works out of the JAS studio. He reportedly even drove to Madrid on his Vespa scooter to sell his vision to the dictator, Francisco Franco, which included allowing topless bathing for the northern European sun-seekers. The legend of how it was founded is well known: during the Franco years, its mayor Pedro Zaragoza envisioned turning a small fishing village into a machine that would milk the developing tourism market in Spain. Like a city that springs up in the video game SimCity, Benidorm is often likened to a small version of Manhattan, a high-rise coastal resort whose vertical lines outrage some while fascinating others.
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