With or Without Elevators

On August 8, the website Gizmodo broadcast that the "The Builders of This Spanish Skyscraper [Tempo Towers] Forgot the Elevator," basing the assertion on a Spanish-language article in El País from July. Given the popularity of Gizmodo and the absurd nature of the story, the news spread about the Internet like wildfire. The developer more than doubled the height of the twin towers (linked at the top) from 20 stories to 47, but apparenty the builders did not allow room for the elevators in the new floors. The article also implies that the architects resigned from the job over this omission.

Gizmodo eventually updated their post, saying, "the building may have elevators after all" (the "may" is a weak assertion of bad reporting on their part). The Spanish blog Barcepundit (that Gizmodo references in their update) mentions 11 elevators in the two buildings, and it includes a photo of the elevator on its ride up to the top floor.

Be it bad translation, skimpy reporting, or hyperactive blogging, the story has the effect of painting the architect, builder, and others involved with the project in a negative manner, convincing readers that their stupidity led to the apparent error. Given the breadth of experts necessary for even a 20-story building, it's close to impossible that elevators can be forgotten, even when the building doubles in size. More likely is that the towers' design does not take the extra floors into account in terms of elevator capacity, meaning residents—especially on the top floors—will have to wait a bit longer than they'd like for a cab.