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Architects: Enrique Bardají & Asociados
- Area: 17751 m²
- Year: 2013
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Photographs:Jesús Granada, Miguel Angel García
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Project & Construction Manager: EXACUO, Alberto Meneu, Lola Rodríguez
Text description provided by the architects. A new model always requires the development of a new architectural concept. The company has developed a new Makro store model wholesale located in central areas of cities and service professionals catering and hospitality of their immediate environment.
The building, rehabilitation of a warehouse sale of timber and building materials preexisting, also houses the headquarters of the company in Spain. In the process of renovating the 17,751 m² building, constructed in reinforced concrete, work has been done on an area of 10,642 m², which has allowed:
The creation of a double-height ground floor
The reorganization of the vertical spaces, placing them at the perimeter and releasing the central zone
The opening up of two courtyards, one interior and one exterior, making it possible to bring light to the heart of the building, improving the lighting conditions of the space intended for the company’s offices.
The concrete structure has been reinforced with steel, which has made it possible to develop the construction process of the building very quickly.
The existing GRC envelope has been removed and replaced with a glass skin and zinc elements with different configurations, strengthening the austere, industrial image the company asked for.
Up to four different configurations of the material have been arranged on the façades. In the opaque areas, smooth and perforated fretwork panels are alternated with glass zones. In the middle, the zinc trays produce a rhythm that makes the material less flat. The upper strips that diffuse the light in the working areas have been achieved with folded zinc, forming coverings for pillars or framework.
The metal coverings are associated with the image of the company’s superstores. As well as being used throughout the centuries on roofs in European cities, zinc is both an industrial and a historic material, which means it easily fits in with its nearby surroundings.
Zinc is a material present in the historic city. Its use makes it possible to adapt a clearly industrial building to the built-up environment.
It means tradition and innovation go hand in hand to resolve an envelope with elegance and austerity while maintaining the recurring image of the company that leads the wholesale food market. Its choice is based on the conviction that the material makes it possible to provide the project with the following aspects:
Adaptation and integration into the historic city, understood as a surface of linear strata in time. Versatility and flexibility offered by the material itself and the industry that accompanies it. Desire to anchor the building in a company image taking the form of the markedly industrial vision of the envelope of its buildings.
The restrained, elegant building vibrates under the changing light like a huge mermaid stranded on Paseo Imperial – Madrid.
