Castellana 77

Only a powerful identity can turn the invisible visible, but architecture can bring a building to life and make it shine. On these pillars, luis vidal + architects set out to transform the offices of Castellana 77. A building that lost its identity and market value over four decades has become a real estate jewel in the financial heart of Madrid. The result is a flexible space with a prominent, efficient identity, which has become the second most expensive square meter in Azca, Madrid’s premium office district.

For this project, with light as the true protagonist, the practice has used a textile material called ETFE in an innovative way, creating a skin that allows for the entrance of light but not heat. A backlit wrapping of hundreds of louvres with different curvatures protects the building from the brightest hours of sunlight while maximizing user comfort and projecting a powerful image. To tame the light without being defeated by it; a 21st-century Icarus designed to beat the sun.