Built, unbuilt and dreamt Madrid is seething with activity, a city at boiling point. It is a fun city, chameleon-like and full of colour, with a cultural and architectural identity that is diffused but enormously attractive. spain — Text: Ariadna Cantis, illustration: lars van schagen
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ocially, culturally and architecturally, the Spanish capital is experiencing vertiginous change. The city’s thwarted ambition to host the 2012 Olympic Games, now revived with its bid for 2016 Games, has led to a radical transformation of the profile of a city with a population well in excess of six million inhabitants. In the near future, new works will be added to those already undertaken over the last five years, such as the M-30 tunnel. The growing transport network will profoundly change the Madrid we know. Moreover, recent months have seen the completion of major projects by prominent international architects, including Madrid Barajas Airport Terminal 4 by Richard Rogers and Lamela, La Caja Mágica by Dominique Perrault, the Caja Madrid Tower by Norman Foster and a social housing project by FOA. In addition to an increasingly varied array of urban spaces, the new city that is taking shape is spawning an urban landscape of surprising contrasts with a profusion of works of differing scale and typology. These are scattered across its territory, giving rise to one of the most attractive cities of the moment. The
saying ‘from Madrid to heaven’ seems about to become reality. Northern zone Any tour of the latest built and projected architectural landmarks must start in the northern zone. Madrid’s new economic centre is where some of the most intriguiing developments are concentrated. To begin with there is the Castellana urban extension (1) by José María Ezquiaga. With a surface area of four million square metres, it is the one of the most ambitious urban development projects in Europe. Once completed, it will become the backbone of the city, particularly when entering Madrid from the north. However, the main protagonists of this area of the city are the four skyscrapers constructed on Real Madrid’s old home ground. The 250-metre-tall Caja Madrid Tower (2) by Norman Foster is now the tallest building in Spain. This brilliant, powerful building makes no formal concessions; it dominates the landscape of the entire area. The slenderness of the Sacyr-Vallehermoso (3), a work by Carlos Rubio Carvajal and Enrique Álvarez-Sala Walter, likewise leaves
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no-one indifferent. Next to the towers, at the highest point along the north-south axis, an International Convention Centre (4) by Tuñón & Mansilla is planned. They collaborated with Matilde Peralta, and designed an iconic green superstructure; the cylindrical building’s facade is lined with solar panels and systems for reusing rainwater. Also worth a visit is the new Las Tablas district, where Herzog & De Meuron have designed new corporate headquarters (5) for the BBVA bank. The Swiss architects’ proposal is a tall, disc-shaped building that embraces a public plaza. Without doubt, this will be become one of the capital’s architectural landmarks. Also located in Las Tablas, on the road to Burgos, is the Telefónica district C (6) where 13,000 employees work. Rafael de La-Hoz conceived the idea of a pedestrianized plaza surrounded by various fully glazed buildings that will scarcely be noticed by motorists passing by on the M40. In nearby Sanchinarro, Celosía (7), a social housing project by the Dutch architects MVRDV and Spanish architect Blanca Lleó, provides an alternative to the enclosed block. The 146 units were constructed using a system of prefabricated modules. The architects inserted a variety of openings in the facade to allow sun and air to penetrate, but also to encourage socializing between neighbours. This ‘colander effect’ creates an interactive area, where views intersect across suspended gardens, giving rise to unusual perspectives between the tree-planted interior and the Madrid skyline. The social housing complex (8) designed by Burgos and Garrido is also located in Sanchinarro. Its formal strength, accentuated by a facade of concrete panels, makes it an obligatory reference point in the neighbourhood. As well as these large-scale developments, the buildings currently under construction in Madrid include some good small-scale projects. One such is the Varsavsky House (9) by Ángel Alonso and Victoria Acebo. Located in the exclusive northern residential area of Moraleja, it is organized around a central patio planted with broadleaved trees that filter the sunlight entering the bedrooms. Back on the north-eastern side of the capital, in Valdebebas, very close to the new Airport Terminal T4 (10), which earned Richard Rogers the most recent Stirling Prize, is the Campus de la Justicia, an ambitious project that will bring all of Madrid’s law courts together in one place. Of the 14
buildings clustered here, the one by Richard Rogers is most worthy of mention. The British architect collaborated with local studio Vidal y Asociados Arquitectos to design a mixeduse building (11). Its eye-catching luminosity is entirely appropriate for a building that forms the gateway to the judicial campus. The M30 to the West The tour now continues via the eastern ring road towards the western part of the city. One of the new urban developments that has done most to change the city is the tunnelling of the M30 ring road in the western zone of the city. The disruption caused by the construction of one of Madrid’s most controversial urban projects has now been forgotten. En route to the linear Manzanares Park (13), a collaboration by four studios (West 8, Burgos & Garrido, Rubio & Álvarez-Sala, and Porras & La Casta architects), we come across the amazing M30 office building (12), designed by Junquera & Obal. Its unique facade, dominated by undulating concrete eaves reminiscent of a river in spate, make it look more like a sculpture than an office building. Madrid has also built some interesting new cultural venues, the most notable of which is the superb conversion of the old Matadero de Madrid (14) in Paseo de la Chopera. A centre of design, theatre and photography, the Matadero is a fashionable, fresh place, a space of cultural exchanges, created out of the rooms in this former industrial building. Among the highlights of this project by MD15 architects is the way it has been renovated using a minimum of wood materials so as not to lose the building’s industrial character. However, of all the new projects in this area, the most spectacular is probably Caja Mágica (15), a tennis venue designed by Dominique Perrault which opened in May 2009 with the ATP World Tour Masters 1000. The immense container is cleverly integrated with the landscape. Once again, Perrault made exquisite use of the woven metals that so often feature in his work, creating movable curtains that lend the building a dynamic appearance. The centre, a pedestrian’s dream By finally opening up to the Manzares river, Madrid is reclaiming the centre for pedestrians. This pedestrian paradise will finally become a reality when the PradoRecoletos axis has been finished. It will then be possible to walk all the way from Plaza
Architect: Herzog & de Meuron Address: Las Tablas
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T4 AIRPORT TERMINAL (2005) Architects: Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners (formerly Richard Rogers Partnership), Estudio Lamela Address: Location Madrid – Barajas
Architect: Foster + Partners Address: Pº de la Castellana 259
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MULTI-PURPOSE BUILDING IN CAMPUS DE LA JUSTICIA (2006) Architects: Richard Rogers Partnership, Vidal y Asociados Arquitectos Address: Campus de Valdebebas
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La Serrería Belga (2009 –) Architects: María Langarita & Victor Navarro Address: Calle Alameda 15
TELEFONICA DISTRICT C (2008) Architect: Rafael de La-Hoz Castanys Address: Ronda de la Comunicación, Las Tablas
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CAJA MADRID TOWER (2004 – 2008)
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AROLA (2005) Architect: Vidal y Asociados arquitectos Address: Plaza Emperador Carlos V s/n
Architects: Jerónimo Junquera & Liliana Obal Address: Calle Ramírez De Arellano
CELOSIA SOCIAL HOUSING BLOCK (2008) Architects: MVRDV (Winy Maas, Jacon Van Rijs, Nathalie de Vries), Blanca Lleó Address: Calle Francisco Pi y Margall 10-20
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RAMSES RESTAURANT (2008) Architects: Philippe Starck, Luis Úrculo Address: Plaza de la Independencia, nº4
SYV TOWER (2008) Architects: Carlos Rubio Carvajal & Enrique Álvarez-Sala Walter Address: Pº de la Castellana, 259B
international convention centre (2007 –) Architects: Luis M. Mansilla, Emilio Tuñón & Matilde Peralta Address: Pº de la Castellana
SANCHINARRO SOCIAL HOUSING (2002 – 2006) Architect: Burgos & Garrido Arquitectos Address: parcela TR-11 Sanchinarro XII P.A.U. II-4
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MANZANARES PARK (2010) Architects: West8, Burgos & Garrido Arquitectos, Rubio & Álvarez-Sala Arquitectos, Porras & La Casta Arquitectos Address: Río Manzanares between Pº de la Ermita del Santo and Calle Pizarra
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Architect: Dominique Perrault Address: Parque del Manzanares
Architects: José M. Ezquiaga and others Address: Chamartín Station, Fuencarral
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CAJA MAGICA (2008)
CASTELLANA URBAN EXTENSION (2009 –)
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BBVA HEAD OFFICE (2007 –)
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VARSAVSKY HOUSE (2007) Architects: Ángel Alonso & Victoria Acebo Address: Camino Ancho 73, la Moraleja
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WAREHOUSE CONVERSION (2007) Architect: MD15 Arquitectos Address: Paseo de la Chopera 14
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TUPPER HOME (2006) Architect: Andrés Jaque Address: Calle de Los Madrazo
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Architect: Teresa Sapey Estudio de Arquitectura Address: Plaza Vazquez de Mella
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UNDERGROUND CAR PARK (2005)
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SOCIAL HOUSING (2007) Architect: Foreign Office Architects Address: Ensanche de Carabanchel 16
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APARTMENT BUILDING (2009)
SATElLITE CONTROL CENTRE (2009) Architect: Herreros Arquitectos Address: Arganda del Rey
ECOBULEVAR (2005) Architect: Ecosistema Urbano Address: Ecobulevar de Vallecas
SOCIAL HOUSING (2007) Architects: Thom Mayne & Begoña DíazUrgorri Emparanza Address: Calle Patrimonio de la Humanidad nº1 PAU Carabanchel
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AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUM (2006) Architects: Luis M. Mansilla & Emilio Tuñón Address: Torrejón de la Calzada
Architect: Ábalos + Sentkiewicz Arquitectos Address: Calle Orfila
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HEMEROSCOPIUM HOUSE (2008) Architect: Antón García-Abril Address: Calle Cabo Candelaria, Urbanización Nuevo Club de Golf, Las Rozas
(Built, unbuilt and dreamt) de Colón in the north to Atocha in the south. The capital’s best museums – the Prado, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Reina Sofía, and Caixa Forum – are concentrated along these five kilometres. By widening the pavements and planting new trees, Álvaro Siza and Juan Miguel Hernández de León hope to persuade people to forget about their cars. By all accounts, anyone visiting Madrid will be able to visit the new Caixa Forum, designed by Herzog & De Meuron, and then move on to the respectful renovation of the La Serrería Belga building (16), a 1930s industrial building that the architects Langarita and Navarro have transformed for the Prado, creating a new space dedicated to contemporary culture at the southern end of this cultural ‘promenade’. Close by is the Reina Sofía Museum which has an amazing restaurant, Arola (17), designed by Vidal y Asociados arquitectos. Its interior is a surprising combination of dynamic shapes and glistening red surfaces. A segmented white table brings order to the space without interrupting it visually. From here, ascending the Cuesta de Moyano, you arrive at Alfonso XII street. A fiveminute leisurely stroll following the railings of Retiro Park will bring you to the Plaza de la Independencia, where you may want to pause for refreshments at the Ramsés restaurant (18) whose interior was designed by the
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celebrated French product designer Philippe Starck. Even more striking, however, are the graphics by Luis Urculo, who began by designing the restaurant’s corporate logo and ended up applying it to the walls and ceiling to draw attention to the fact that it has become a fashionable place. Still heading north, we encounter several noteworthy projects. A short distance from the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, in Calle de Los Madrazo, is an apartment building (19) (see also A10 #13), a modest renovation project overseen by the architect Andrés Jaque, whose fresh approach is representative of the vitality of a young generation of Madrid-based architects (interviewed in A10 #15). The interior is coated with methacrylate and a lack of square metres is compensated by sophisticated design and technology. A fifteen-minute walk in the direction of Calle Fuencarral brings you to Plaza Vázquez de Mella; the large red metal lasso protruding through the ground plane is the only visible evidence of Teresa Sapey’s underground car park (20). Underground, a profusion of light, colour, photographs and artworks turn what is so often a gloomy space into a welcoming place. Further north, near Colón, Iñaki Ábalos and Renata Sentkiewicz have designed an apartment building (21) with a facade that is both permeable and protected from the sun.
The new south We will round off the tour with a brief excursion to the south. It’s best to go by car as the area is not well served by public transport. This traditionally working class area contains a lot of social housing. This is particularly true of the southernmost district of Carabanchel, where FOA and Tom Mayne/Begoña DíazUrgorri Emparanza have both designed impressive social housing schemes. FOA’s social housing project (22) aimed to deliver a maximum amount of space, flexibility and quality to the residences, erasing individual differences with a homogenous bamboo screen. Mayne and Díaz’ social housing development (23) focused on the patios filling them with vegetation and encircling them with a metallic mesh that will provide support for climbing plants. Finally, a bit outside the city on the eastern side, one of the new developments that has attracted a lot of attention over the past year is by the Ecosistema Urbano Arquitectos. Their proposal for an urban recycling plant (see A10 #12), dubbed the Ecobulevar de Vallecas (24), features three eye-catching ‘air trees’ that are light in structure, demountable and self-sufficient in terms of energy, consuming only what their array of photovoltaic panels can produce. Three other interesting projects that shouldn’t be missed even though they are a
bit off the main route, are a satellite monitoring centre, an automobile museum and a hemeroscopium house. Some 20 kilometres south of Madrid, Tuñón & Mansilla will be supervising construction of the Automotive Museum (25) in Torrejón de la Calzada. The building’s main feature will be its facades as they will be built using the compressed bodies of junked cars. Further east, in the town of Arganda del Rey, the new Herreros architectural studio has designed a circular building for a satellite monitoring centre (26). The new transparent, translucent and opaque glass facade creates an evanescent atmosphere. North-west of the city (in Las Rozas) the Hemeroscopium house (27) by Antón García-Abril, is worth mentioning on account of its striking concrete structure. Conclusion This guide showcases new architecture in Madrid – so new in fact that some are still under construction. Although you will have to wait a while to see the complete picture, this article serves as a starting point from which to dream about a new Madrid, a metropolis which has long been a breeding ground for emerging architects. This new Madrid is intent on reclaiming traditionally forgotten spaces like its river, and its city centre is now the object of a new Strategic Plan, by Ezquiaga, Herreros and Perez Arroyo.