The "Mercado de la Cebada" is located in the heart of "La Latina", the epicenter for "tapas" in Madrid. Although it is a symbol for the neighbors, it needed renovation. J&B has been the main engine of this project, which aims to transform the market and increase it's visibility. The intervention takes over six domes (4.800 m2) and the two main façades (650 m2). By writing the sentence "Llena la vida de color" (fill your life with color), We used words as a weapon to bring some optimism and reverse the process of negativity found in our society. On the domes, we used the complexity of their shape, to finish the intervention writing with the technique of anamorphosis, the word COLOR.
The market
The beauty of it’s urban planning back in the XVI and XVII century, makes "La Latina" one of the most emblematic districts in Madrid. It comes to life during the weekends as an epicenter for "tapas" and a flea market known as "El Rastro". The actual Market building was constructed back in 1958, as a free-standing project for commerce on the ground floor. The most iconic element of this building is the roof, consisting of six huge concrete domes. It has been speculated in the last decade, the demolition of the market because of the damage it has suffered throughout the years, to the point the building looked almost abandoned. Today, the market is claiming for a change. To rejuvenate. To come back to life and be visible once again.
The domes
We changed the color of every dome, modifying this way the landscape of the area. The colors show the optimism and somehow bring out what is happening inside the market. From a certain point on the top of the blue dome, we can read the word COLOR, written in white color over the rest of the domes. The technique we used is anamorphosis; modifying the perspective and flattening the space, we leaved a surprise on the roof.
Information & Credits
September 2013. The intervention has a total of 5.450 m2 painted. (sum of the surface of the domes, 4.800m2, and the façade, 650m2). In this work we used almost 3.000 kg of painting, plus insulating material for leakings on the domes and latex to protect the façade. This project was possible thanks to the sponsorship of J&B, the support of the "Mercado de la Cebada", and the partnership of Communicate PR. We also want to thank our incredible climbers: Hugo, Jaime, Arne, Charlie, Vito and Mike.
