News: the builders behind this two-tower 47-storey skyscraper in Benidorm, Spain, have forgotten to include a working lift. Update 20/08/13: the developer has told Dezeen that media reports were incorrect and the tower does include elevators.

Spanish national newspaper El Pais has reported that one of Europe's tallest residential skyscrapers, the 200 metre-tall Intempo tower in Alicante, has been built without a working elevator above the 20th floor.

Designed by Spanish architects Roberto Perez Guerras, the skyscraper features two symmetrical towers that are joined at the top with an inverted cone-shaped structure.

It was originally designed with 20 storeys, but developers later decided to extend it to 47 storeys - offering 269 homes. However they neglected to allow the extra room required by a lift ascending over twice as far.

This news comes as a further embarrassing blunder for the architects and construction team - following countless problems experienced during the project.

The project suffered its first setback in 2009, when the construction company involved went into liquidation. Later, an elevator fell with 13 people trapped inside and ambulances were unable to reach the site because vehicle access had been removed to save costs.

In 2008, the architects described the project on its company website as "a symbol of a new architectural philosophy". The company said: "its features of comfort, design and elegance set a standard for the future of architecture and the city of Benidorm".

"A majestic building, that will mark a before and after in architecture and town-planning in Spain," said the architects.

The architects have since resigned from the project. The Intempo Tower is due for completion in December 2013, although it remains unclear how the missing elevator will be resolved.

See more skyscrapers »