Casa de la Punxa, Tarragona

Opposite the Fountain of the Century, where Rambla Nova, Carrer Pau Casals and Carrer Rovira i Virgili converge, there is a house built in 1929 for the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Navigation (Cambra Oficial de Comerç, Indústria i Navegació de Tarragona), which is located here today. Thanks to the turret with a sharp conical dome, the house was named Casa de la Punxa, which can be translated literally as "house with a needle". The house is also notable for the fact that an elevator was installed in it for the first time in Tarragona. The elevator has long been replaced with a more modern one, and the cabin of the old one, made of wood and glass, has become an exhibit of the city Museum of Modern Art.

This is one of the first works by Antoni Pujol Sevil, who graduated from the architectural school in 1927. The young architect used characteristic elements of three styles: modernism, Neo-Renaissance and Neoclassicism. The house has a trapezoid shape in plan, the narrow side of which is formed by a round tower with an elegant conical dome. The tower is crowned with a forged decoration that performs the functions of lightning protection.

Pay attention to the eaves of the roof, it is decorated with an openwork balustrade of sculptures depicting the heads of dragons.