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The renovation and adaptive re-use of commercial property offers a sustainable way for asset owners to reposition tired assets into vibrant real estate with an extended lease of life.
Located at 130 Paseo de la Castellana, a comprehensive refurbishment has recast this 60-year-old office building into a desirable property at the heart of Madrid's central business district, boasting excellent local amenities and transport links.
Generali Real Estate initially appointed Arup to re-design the façade and renovate the HVAC installations in this owner occupier refurbishment, but the team’s solid work saw the scope expand to include inner courtyards, office spaces, the ground floor and lift lobbies as well as the underground parking.
Our team of property advisors, designers and sustainability consultants put users at the heart of this extensive retrofit, with a range of simple, high-impact measures – making the most of the internal courtyard, and measures to allow light in while keeping heat gain under tabs – to create a desirable, sustainable commercial building. Arup delivered a cost-efficient design has seen this extensive refurbishment completed in three years, while mitigating impact on the existing tenants.
To stand out in a competitive local market, this prime property has been transformed with a new, striking frameless glass façade, creating a light-filled, contemporary office space that connects users to their surrounds.
The sleek façade delivers on form as well as function, with a clever design that allows light to flood the space while reducing heat gain in this west-facing property.
Project Summary
13,000m2 refurbished
60year-oldproperty
10office floorsabove grade
User-focused office retrofit
Designing for user comfort and sustainability, the design team focused on aspects like light, thermal comfort and sound levels. Natural light is a key consideration for the indoor environment: new openings connect the lift lobbies with the previously unused internal courtyards, creating light wells that bathe both the main office space as well as entrances, corridors and transit areas.
Striking glass building envelope
Our local design team found ways to mitigate the potential challenges associated with west-facing façades in Madrid. The elegant glass envelope belies clever design that optimises light while minimising heat gain.
The building envelope uses opaque, double laminated glass in two compartments. Thanks to careful façade design, we were able to reduce costly glass use by 30%, creating an internal bench across the façade line. The mullion free façade offers unfettered views over La Castellana, Madrid’s main thoroughfare.
“The adaptive re-use of commercial property is on the rise: Castellana 130 is a leading example of the type of the cost-efficient, high-impact interventions that give prime real estate a competitive edge: user-obsessed, sustainable design. ”
Jose Marquez Arup Spain Architecture Leader
Sustainability and cost savings
Our sustainability specialists proposed more efficient production and ventilation systems both at the roof top and within each office floor, alongside a custom designed and integrated BMS (Building Management System), creating a more sustainable services management design concept across the whole building.
