CaixaForum Madrid

CaixaForum has been conceived as a sort of urban magnet that attracts not only art lovers, but all the people of Madrid and visitors to the city. In addition to the cultural programme to be offered by the institution, this magnetism is provoked by the building itself, whose powerful mass rises above the ground plane in apparent defiance of the laws of gravity and with the real effect of drawing the public inside.

View gallery

CaixaForum Madrid stands in a privileged location on the banks of the Paseo del Prado and opposite the Botanical Gardens. This new home for the arts occupies a hitherto uninteresting area with buildings such as the power station and a petrol station. The brick walls of the old power station are part of Madrid's architectural heritage and bear witness to its industrial past, but the petrol station was a purely functional facility and clearly out of place.

Duccio Malagamba
Duccio Malagamba

Like a vineyard that cannot bear the expected fruit because it was planted with the wrong type of grape, this significant enclave had not developed to its full potential. The demolition of the service station made it possible to create a small square between Paseo del Prado and the new CaixaForum housed in the old power station. The only material from the old power plant that could be used was the brick casing, which is listed.

Duccio Malagamba

To orchestrate and insert the new architectural components of the CaixaForum project, we began with a surgical operation, separating and eliminating the plinth and the parts of the building that were no longer necessary. This operation provided an entirely new and spectacular perspective on the old building, while solving a number of site-related problems. By removing the base of the building, an open, covered space appeared under the ceramic shell, which now appears to float above street level.

Duccio Malagamba

General information

CaixaForum Madrid

YEAR

2008

Status

Built. Protected architecture

Option to visit

Visit by appointment

Address

Wwy. del Prado, 34

28014 Madrid - Madrid

Latitude: 40.41116898

Longitude: -3.692986554

Classification

Built area

501 - 5000 m²

Awards

X BEAU

Information provided by

X BEAU

Website links

Herzog & de Meuron

X BEAU

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Location

40.41116898 -3.692986554 e3cd9ebd-da8b-4b89-9673-a8e73222ce8a Built
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Built
Temporary
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Unbuilt project

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