211. Castellana 2

The structure of an existing building, located on the Plaza de Colón in Madrid, is modified with a lightweight, abstract construction; its scale and material qualities evoke the temporary constructions that dot the entire Paseo de la Castellana. Considering its exceptional location, the building resulting from the refurbishment of the existing construction is designed to be discrete in its appearance, with the aim of transmitting to the city the shared values of contemporary society: sustainability, transparency and innovation. The proposal aims to significantly improve the quality of the building's spaces —and its immediate urban surroundings— by employing three fundamental strategies that justify the design solutions: an improvement of the existing building's thermodynamic conditions; the maximum recyclability of all the built elements; and a more discreet appearance that avoids adding another imposing presence to a complex environment that is already overcrowded. The form and the envelope of the proposed building are the result of the optimization of the available space and the implementation of bioclimatic strategies.

The building is developed with a controlled massing and a lightweight envelope as a consequence of the strategies used to improve its energy efficiency. Additionally, the design is based on the premise of recycling the existing structure as much as possible, reducing costs and giving a second life to the concrete from the current construction, with the aim of minimizing the carbon footprint. Beginning from the premise of refurbishing and recycling the structure, all the design solutions and materials are selected for their environmental characteristics.

The basic glass box, with an improved coefficient of form, is qualified for energy performance by a perforated façade that is outfitted with textile surfaces that have limited transparency, supported by horizontal lines of corbels, thus helping to mitigate the building's sun exposure from the west. One might say that the proposal for the office building on Paseo de la Castellana is a discreet homage to Calvino's Six Memos for the Next Millennium: lightness, quickness, exactitude, visibility, multiplicity, and consistency