CaixaForum Madrid

Herzog & de Meuron – Madrid Spain, 2003-2008

The CaixaForum Madrid is a modern art gallery in the center of Madrid, Spain. It is sponsored by the La Caixa bank and is located at number 36 on the Paseo del Prado. It was built on a project by the Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron from 2001 to 2008

A magnet
The CaixaForum is conceived as an urban magnet that attracts not only art lovers but all Madrilenians as well as from the outside. The attraction will not only be the cultural program of CaixaForum, but also the building itself, to the extent that its heavy mass, detaches itself from the ground in apparent contempt for the laws of gravity and, in a real sense, attracts visitors to the internal.

The CaixaForum-Madrid stands on an advantageous site in front of the Paseo del Prado and the botanical garden vis à vis. This new address for the arts is located in an area hitherto occupied by inconspicuous urban structures, the central Eléctrica power station and a service station. The classified brick walls of the former power plant are reminiscent of the early industrial age in Madrid, while the service station, a purely functional structure, was clearly out of place. Like a vineyard that could never develop its full potential because it was planted with the wrong grape, this prominent position could not develop its full potential. The demolition of the gas station created a small square between the Paseo del Prado and the new CaixaForum in the converted power plant.

A spectacular transformation
The only material from the old power plant that we could use was the brick shell. To conceive and insert the new architectural components of the CaixaForum, we started with a surgical operation, separating and removing the base and parts of the building that are no longer needed. This opened up a completely new and spectacular perspective that simultaneously solved a number of problems posed by the site. The removal of the base of the building has left a covered square under the brick shell, which now appears to float above street level. This sheltered space under the CaixaForum offers shade to visitors who want to spend time or meet outdoors and, at the same time, is the entrance to the Forum itself. Problems such as the narrowness of the surrounding streets, the positioning of the main entrance and the architectural identity of this contemporary art institution are addressed and solved in a single urban and sculptural gesture.

An under construction and an above ground construction
The separation of the structure from the ground level creates two worlds: one below and the other above the earth. The "underground world" buried under the landscaped square offers space for a theater / auditorium, service rooms and several parking spaces. The multi-storey building above ground houses the entrance hall and galleries, a restaurant and administrative offices. There is a contrast between the flexible and loft character of the exhibition spaces and the spatial complexity of the upper floor with its restaurant / bar and offices. The striking sculptural aspect of the CaixaForum silhouette is not a simple architectural fantasy, but reflects the landscape of the roof of the surrounding buildings.
Herzog & de Meuron, 2008