Castellana 79 Building

In the financial and commercial centre of the city is located this building neighbour of one of the best buildings of offices in Madrid (BBVA Building) With a markedly urban character it presents a magnificent opportunity to answer to the city in two very different scales:

-an urban scale, represented by the most important street in Madrid: ‘El Paseo de la Castellana’. -and other more domestic scale, represented by a prominent square/plaza with a pedestrian character.

These urban premises and requests of the customer (singular but discreet building at the same time) make conditional from the beginning the idea of the project.

The building has a façade neutral, abstract, flat, alive, with volume. Lights and shadows that change and clarify the smooth skin of glass with different finishes proposed, with the passage of the day and the seasons of the year. Opacity and transparency. Reflex and subdued. Brilliant and without shine. Reflections and shadows that are never the same.

Flat glasses as squares: dark and white (the color of the steel of the BBVA).

Glasses in volume with shadows and reflections as a three-dimensional board: steel and glass separated by mirrors, which increase the feeling of weightlessness of this second skin.

Steel parts that show or hide (depending on point of view)the dark squares of the chessboard of the inner skin.

Ultimately a facade with "life" which depending from and when you observe, vibrates with the sunlight or shuts off without the direct incidence of this.

Project. One of the largest fashion houses in the world gives itself a makeover. The project is characterized by its initially neutral, abstract facade. During the course of a day and through out the changing seasons, a fascinating interplay between light and shade makes the structure appear to come alive.

Concept/Design. The glass curtain wall is reminiscent of a three dimensional checkerboard. This is achieved by alternating panels of clear laminated safety glass with panels which have SEFAR® Architecture VISION fabric embedded within them. The basic SEFAR® Architecture VISION product range consists of six fabrics with differing yarn strengths and mesh openings. The fabric has an exterior aluminum coating which reflects the constantly changing climatic conditions around the building, while the black fabric on the interior side provides a slightly darkened view of the outside world.

Construction. All of the open-edged, laminated glass panels used to form the curtain wall are produced with a 1.52 mm SentryGlas® interlayer made by DuPont. Each panel measures 3440 x 1950 mm and consists of two layers of 8 mm single-pane safely glass with a low iron content. The cube-like offset glass panels create a stunning optical effect, while the coated Vision fabric lends the glass an unusual textile structure and reduces its hard visual quality.

Comments architect Rafael de La-Hoz: «There is an interplay between shades and reflections that is never equal, with the dark squares of the inner skin interspersed by mirrors that seemingly vibrate with the light of the sun, yet switch off when direct sunlight is lost.