New Castellana 69 office building by Thomas Heatherwick, in Madrid

The new building will develop a project led by Thomas Heatherwick's London studio, Heatherwick Studio, in collaboration with CLK architects and the engineering consulting group BAC, after being selected in a competition to which five national and international studios have chosen.

Located on a plot of AZCA that has been occupied for decades by a parking lot in front of Nuevos Ministerios, the new building will be located in front of the headquarters of one of the El Corte Inglés department stores. The plot is one of the most attractive and still vacant corners of the Castellana, which was acquired by the commercial chain in 2014.

New El Corte Inglés office building by Thomas Heatherwick. Visualisation by Lotoarchilab

The future building, projected by Heatherwick Studio, will have 15,000 square meters and the break ground of its construction is scheduled for the beginning of next year, with a view to its completion in 2024. According to the company, the use of the new building will be the lease to third parties, that is, El Corte Inglés will not expand its offices, but rather it is made as an investment to obtain income from its tenants.

“It’s thrilling for my studio to be building our first project in Spain. Castellana 69 is an exciting opportunity to move away from the formality and staleness of so much modern office building design to develop a more humanised workspace that simultaneously prioritises social and environmental sustainability. We’re proud to have El Corte Inglés as our client, and we share their commitment to making greener and more human-centred cities for everyone.”

Thomas Heatherwick, Founder of Heatherwick Studio

Project description by Heatherwick Studio

Located close to El Corte Inglés’ flagship store in Paseo de la Castellana, the building area is nearly 15,000 sqm. It will be the first Heatherwick Studio project to be built in Spain.

Demonstrating a solid commitment to the environment and the belief that great design makes more liveable cities, Castellana 69 promotes both social and environmental sustainability. This is embodied in the innovative façade and the central ‘green heart’, provided by a courtyard inside the building, bursting with trees and plants to bring nature into the centre of the workplace and the city.

This approach is amplified by the choice of healthy and sustainable materials, advanced technology and by harnessing natural resources. Solar panels on the building will produce more energy than the building consumes and the building will ultimately become net zero carbon. Furthermore, the amount of embodied carbon used in construction will be a fraction of a typically constructed office building.

Another goal is to humanise the workplace by creating an inspiring and stimulating environment and providing organisational flexibility that responds to society’s demands for new working patterns. The design takes full advantage of the local climate with a seamless flow from indoor to outdoor working and social spaces.

Construction for this office building will start in early 2022 and is due to complete in 2024. The site is the last plot of land in the AZCA area, Madrid’s financial and business hub.

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Diagram. New El Corte Inglés office building by Thomas Heatherwick.

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THOMAS HEATHERWICK

Thomas Heatherwick (17.02.1970) established in 1994, Heatherwick Studio recognised for its work in architecture, urban infrastructure, sculpture, design and strategic thinking. Today a team of 180, including architects, designers and makers, works from a combined studio and workshop in Kings Cross, London.

At the heart of the studio’s work is a profound commitment to finding innovative design solutions, with a dedication to artistic thinking and the latent potential of materials and craftsmanship. This is achieved through a working methodology of collaborative rational inquiry, undertaken in a spirit of curiosity and experimentation.

In the twenty years of its existence, Heatherwick Studio has worked in many countries, with a wide range of commissioners and in a variety of regulatory environments. Through this experience, the studio has acquired a high level of expertise in the design and realisation of unusual projects, with a particular focus on the large scale.

The studio’s work includes a number of nationally significant projects for the UK, including the award-winning UK Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo 2010, the Olympic Cauldron for the London 2012 Olympic Games, and the New Bus for London.

Thomas is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects; a Senior Research Fellow at the Victoria & Albert Museum; and has been awarded Honorary Doctorates from the Royal College of Art, University of Dundee, University of Brighton, Sheffield Hallam University and University of Manchester.

He has won the Prince Philip Designers Prize, and, in 2004, was the youngest practitioner to be appointed a Royal Designer for Industry. In 2010, Thomas was awarded the RIBA’s Lubetkin Prize and the London Design Medal in recognition of his outstanding contribution to design.

In 2013 Thomas was awarded a CBE for his services to the design industry.