186. Arquia Bank Offices

The new offices of Arquia Bank and the Arquia Foundation sit behind the façade of an industrial building located on calle Tutor in Madrid, once home to a graphic arts company in the early 20th century.

The new four-storey construction that houses this administrative building is discreetly hidden behind the heritage façade; a series of step-backs on the exterior leave what remains of the former print shop in the foreground. This respects the scale and lighting conditions on this stretch of the street without affecting its current section.

At the entrance level, a small lobby rises to the height of the first terrace's roof. A skylight in the roof brings light into the entrance. Several rooms on the first floor open onto the lobby, playing asymmetrically with the gaps in the existing façade. The lobby leads to the vertical communication core and to a multi-purpose space, which faces the small garden in the interior courtyard of the block.

The top floors are reserved for bright, open administrative spaces that connect with the different landscaped terraces. Walls and ceilings are clad in white lacquered wood, like on a ship.

The heritage façade, made of pressed brick, determines the construction of the stepped façades, as well as the rear façade that faces the interior courtyard. All the exterior walls are designed with large openings, almost on an industrial scale, establishing connections with the building that once stood on the site. The intervention is meant as a simple tribute to the small-scale industry that developed in this area of Madrid in the early 20th century, while highlighting the respect among Madrid's residents for the city's humble industrial past.