Archinect - News

Foster + Partners completes ‘innovative’ retrofit of old Spanish gas plant

2022-06-30T11:43:00-04:00

Foster + Partners has completed work on Ombú, an adaptive reuse project in Madrid, Spain. The scheme, designed for Spanish infrastructure and energy company ACCIONA, sees the retrofit of a 1905 gas plant into an office building.

Over 10,000 square meters (108,000 square feet) of office space are accommodated inside the building, which the firm says “breathes new life into a historic industrial building in Madrid, creating a sustainable exemplar of building reuse and revitalizing the surrounding area.”

Photo: Nigel Young. Image via Foster + Partners

The plant was originally built in 1905 to supply energy to the surrounding area. Having fallen into disuse and with demolition looming, the building was acquired by ACCIONA in 2017 with the goal of repurposing it.

Fosters’ approach to the adaptive reuse project involved retaining the existing load-bearing structure supporting pitched steel trusses as well as the existing building envelope, which the team calculates has conserved ove...

Spain grants final approval for Foster + Partners Museo del Prado expansion

2021-09-30T13:42:00-04:00

Following a six-year delay fueled by the Covid-19 crisis and by political and financial tensions reverberating throughout the country, Spain’s council of ministers has awarded Madrid’s Museo Nacional del Prado $42 million to complete a long-anticipated expansion. The country will dole out the funds over a three-year span, allowing the institution to renovate the neighboring Hall of Realms, which it purchased in 2012.

The Foster + Partners-led Museo del Prado expansion was originally announced in 2016 and planned to coincide with the museum’s 200th anniversary three years later. The project, which is being coordinated with the help of Madrid-based Rubio Arquitectura, will focus on the adjacent 17th-century Hall of Realms that was acquired by the museum in 2012, the same year Spain’s unemployment rate reached a plateau of nearly 25%.

The government-approved plan would come in three stages separate from the Ministry of Culture’s annual budget. The expansion will be complete by 2024, according to El Pais.

Spanish architecture studio DelaVegaCanolasso designs a 'Tini Office' perfect for remote work

2021-03-26T15:27:00-04:00

Remote offices took many forms last year, but the Spanish architecture studio, DelaVegaCanolasso, designed an office that focuses on mobility and flexibility. The "Tini Office" was developed for the 'TiniHome' series in Spain.

The prefabricated, 263.7 square foot (22-square-meter) module provides individuals with a fresh and isolated workspace that "brings them back to nature." Constructed out of recycled OSB wood with a corten steel facade, the minimalist office design can turn your backyard or vacant open space into a ready-to-use remote work area. Aiming to promote a customizable tiny office experience, the TiniHome series promotes sustainability, fast production, and ease. "You can choose that your 'Tinis' are totally self-sufficient, with solar panels + batteries, water tank, and septic tank," shares the Tiny Home series team.

Tini Office by delaVegaCanolasso (2020) Image © Imagen Subliminal (Miguel de Guzman + Rocío Romero)

Image © delaVegaCanolasso (2020)

Plans © delaVegaCanol...

Get Lectured: IE School of Architecture and Design, 2018-19

2018-10-19T16:32:00-04:00

Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Fall 2018

With a new school year upon us, it's time for Archinect's latest Get Lectured, an ongoing series where we feature a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. Check back regularly to keep track of any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss.

So far in their 2018-19 lecture series, the Madrid-based IE School of Architecture and Design has hosted Kazuyo Sejima, Lars Lerup, and Hunter Tura. Later this year, hear from Siv Helene Stangeland of Norwegian practice Helen & Hard, industrial and product designer Christophe Guberan, Špela Videčnik of Ofis Arhitekti, Fuelfor & The Care Lab co-founders L. Parameswaran + L. Herczeg, and architect Carlo Ratti of Carlo Ratti Associati.

Check out previous posters on the Get Lectured Pinterest page.

Want another way to share your school's events? Send them to Bustler! Simply submit events for review here.

Get Lectured: IE School of Architecture and Design, 2017-18

2017-12-13T13:42:00-05:00

Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Fall 2017

Archinect's Get Lectured is an ongoing series where we feature a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. Check back regularly to keep track of any upcoming lectures you don't want to miss.

Want to share your school's lecture series? Send us your school's lecture series poster and details to connect@archinect.com.

Although the Fall 2017 term is wrapping up, some schools have already revealed their lecture events for the Winter/Spring '18 terms. Here's a preview of the 2018 lecture events from the IE School of Architecture and Design in Madrid.

Jan 19*
Farshid Moussavi / Architect, Founder of Farshid Moussavi Architecture, London

Feb 12
Francine Houben / Architect, Founding Partner of Mecanoo Architecten, Delft (Netherlands)

Feb 13*
Tatjana Schneider / Architect, Senior Lecturer at University of Sheffield, Professor at HafenCity University, Hamburg

Mar 8-9
Anne Stenros / Architect, Chief Design Of...

The Norman Foster Foundation announces a program of education initiatives

2017-07-12T14:40:00-04:00

Based in Madrid and operating globally, The Norman Foster Foundation is a non-profit promoting holistic education and interdisciplinary thinking and research.

Followed from the Future is Now forum held in Madrid's Royal Theater on the 1st of June, Mayor of Madrid and Lord Foster brought together leading figures in the fields of science, design, architecture, politics, art, economics and history, to a capacity audience of 2,000 and 75,000 online viewers.

With the support of the Rolex Institute, the Foundation will host week-long events in its Madrid Headquarters in November 2017. Grants will be awarded to ten students from around the world for a series of talks, think tanks and workshops led by key individuals, including Norman Foster, on issues such as the city, infrastructure, mobility and technology.

The Norman Foster Foundation. Image courtesy of the NFF

In October 2017 the Foundation will feature an exhibit titled Common Futures in Madrid's Espacio Fundacion Telefonica. Create...

Norman Foster turns 82 and inaugurates his foundation's beautiful Madrid headquarters

2017-06-02T14:18:00-04:00

The British-born, Pritzker prize winning architect, Norman Foster, opens his archive and an international research centre on Thursday, 1 June, housed in a palatial building in Madrid. The new Spanish headquarters of the Norman Foster Foundation is a historic building that has been restored and expanded by the architect. He has designed a glass and steel “pavilion of inspiration” in the courtyard, leading to a basement filled with his archive, library plus photography and slide collection.

The opening of the new foundation HQ in Madrid coincided with Lord Foster's 82nd birthday this Thursday which he celebrated with the inaugural, one-day "The Future is Now" conference. The event featured illustrious speakers from the fields of design, architecture, and philanthropy, such as Olafur Eliasson, Jonathan Ive, Maya Lin, Michael Bloomberg, as well as fellow Pritzker-laureate, Alejandro Aravena.

All images via the Norman Foster Foundation website.

Watch the video below to learn more about the foundation's striking, new spaces.

No more personal cars will be allowed in Madrid's city center

2017-01-10T19:03:00-05:00

Madrid's mayor, Manuela Carmena, is serious about kicking personal cars off the road in the city center. On a November 5 show on Spanish radio networkCadena Ser, she confirmed that Madrid's main avenue, the Gran Vía, will only allow access to bikes, buses, and taxis before she leaves office in May 2019, as noted by CityLab.

Are people in love with not having to drive to dense urban locales? (Answer: for the most part, yes.) Following the lead of numerous cities that are seeking either to reduce car traffic or obliterate it altogether, Madrid's mayor actually outlawed personal vehicles from the city's main thoroughfare during the crucial days before Christmas (and later discovered that merchant profits were up over the previous year).

The latest updates in global car culture:

First glimpse of Foster + Partners and Rubio Arquitectura's Museo del Prado expansion scheme

2016-11-28T18:42:00-05:00

The Museo del Prado in Madrid has big plans for its 200th anniversary celebration in 2019. Among those plans is an expansion of the museum campus and the restoration of the historic Salón de Reinos, all of which Foster + Partners and Spanish practice Rubio Arquitectura will be in charge of designing. The team won over seven notable contenders in an international competition that included OMA, Nieto Sobejano, Souto Moura, and Gluckman Tang.

Following the museum's last major extension by architect Rafael Moneo in 1998, this expansion focuses on refurbishing the Salón de Reinos (or Hall of Realms), one of the surviving pieces of the former 17th-century Buen Retiro Palace. The expansion will also create additional gallery space for the Prado Museum's permanent and temporary exhibitions.

Read on for an excerpt from Foster + Partners' and Rubio Arquitectura's winning proposal, “Hidden Design”:

“The primary protagonist is the noble Hall of Realms, a monument which has gathered many layers o...

Madrid is about to get a lot more green

2016-01-26T15:31:00-05:00

Nature is poised to reconquer Madrid. Faced with rising summer temperatures, Spain’s capital has announced plans, reported in today’s El Pais, to seam the city so thoroughly with new green patches that its face could be quite transformed. City parks will be expanded and restored, and 22 new urban gardens created. Vacant public land will be freed up to create community gardens while the banks of the city’s scrappy Manzanares River will be thickly planted with trees...

According to the report, other components of the initiative include funding and encouragement for green roofs and façades. Plants beds would be added to paved squares and ponds may be created to catch excess stormwater like in Copenhagen.

Madrid's location – perched high on a plateau that receives little rain – has always brought harsh winters and grueling summers. But according to a study made by Arup, rainfall could drop by 25% by the midcentury. When it does arrive, it's probably going to be in massive summer storms that can have more averse effects than positive.

If put into action, this plan could greatly improve the city today – and save it from tomorrow.

Related:

Martha Thorne appointed as new dean of IE School of Architecture

2015-09-14T12:39:00-04:00

IE University announced the appointment of Martha Thorne as Dean of IE School of Architecture. Martha Thorne has served as the Executive Director of the Pritzker Architecture Prize since 2005. She held the position of Associate Curator of the Department of Architecture at The Art Institute of Chicago from 1996 to 2005. [...] Martha Thorne has formed part of the IE School of Architecture & Design management team since its inception and previously served as Associate Dean for External Relations.

SelgasCano to design 2015 Serpentine Pavilion

2014-12-04T13:28:00-05:00

SelgasCano of Madrid will be designing the fifteenth Serpentine Galleries Pavilion in London's Kensington Gardens. For the past 15 years, the Serpentine Galleries has invited architects like Sou Fujimoto, Jean Nouvel, Herzog & de Meuron with Ai Wei Wei, Peter Zumthor, SANAA, Zaha Hadid, and most recently Smiljan Radic to design the temporary outdoor structure, which continues to be an anticipated summer event every year.

Like every year, the outdoor structure must be a flexible multi-functional social space with a cafe. SelgasCano have yet to submit their design plans.

Here's a glimpse into some of their previous works:

Plasencia Auditorium and Congress Centre, Cáseres, Spain 2005/2013

Factory Mérida, Badajoz, Spain 2006/2011

El ‘B’. Cartagena, Auditorium and Congress Centre, Murcia, Spain 2001/2011

Office in the Woods, Madrid, Spain 2006/2009

Join the Online Master Class "Real Estate in the Corporation – More than just an Expense", hosted by Sharon Liebowitz

2014-09-30T11:35:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by IE School of Architecture & Design

Online Master Class
Real Estate in the Corporation – More than just an Expense
Date: Oct 7th 2014 at 6:00 PM Madrid time.
Speaker: Sharon Liebowitz, VP of Global Real Estate, JPMorgan Chase
Registration: click here to register to the event.
Brought to you by: IE School of Architecture & Design

Real Estate is among the top three expenses for most corporations, and as such, needs to be aggressively managed. But, in addition to managing real estate as an expense item, real estate also needs to be managed as a strategic asset. This can include using the workspace to attract talent, developing a location strategy to situate offices near the best labor pool, or creating an office environment that supports collaboration. Deploying the capabilities of real estate as a strategic asset enables businesses to achieve their priorities.

Biography of the speaker:
Sharon Liebowitz is a vice president of Global Real Estate at JPMor...

Join the Online Master Class “The Versatile Workplace”, hosted by Primo Orpilla and Verda Alexander (Studio O+A)

2014-09-08T21:20:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by IE School of Architecture & Design:

Online Master Class
The Versatile Workplace
Date: September 25th, 2014 at 7 PM Madrid time.
Speakers: Primo Orpilla and Verda Alexander, Founders Studio O+A
Registration: click here to register to the event.
Brought to you by: IE School of Architecture & Design

Founders of O+A, Primo Orpilla and Verda Alexander will discuss emerging changes in the workplace through the lens of the firm's most recent design projects, including Uber and Yelp. They will challenge current trends and notions on collaboration, the open office, and technology as a major catalyst for change in office design and will demonstrate a new way of working that offers "complete customization" of a workspace.

This Online Master Class focuses in one of the areas developed in the Master in Design for Work, Retail and Learning Environments at IE, an innovative, post-professional program that addresses the shifts that are occurring within the realm of busines...

Madrid's Museo Reina Sofía plans another expansion

2014-08-18T15:13:00-04:00

The director of the Museo Reina Sofía, Manuel Borja-Villel, has just announced that Madrid’s main Modern and contemporary art museum will expand its permanent exhibition space by a total of 3,000 sq. m by the end of 2015. In an interview with EFE news agency, Borja-Villel said the project will “finally” join the Francisco Sabatini-designed building, which fully opened as an art museum in 1992, with the extension by Jean Nouvel, completed in 2005.

The Master in Architectural Management and Design at IE is starting next February; find out where our alumni are working

2013-12-12T10:02:00-05:00

This sponsored post is brought to you by IE School of Architecture & Design:

Recognizing that architectural education both in Spain and around the world follows limited models – either a technical focus or and artistic one - and that the demands of current society, especially in a time of economic fragility and uncertainly, IE School of Architecture and Design decided to launch the Master in Architectural Management and Design in 2011. One purpose was to broaden the profile of professionals in order to help them obtain the necessary tools to adapt to the new economic scenario. We considered that bridging the gap between advanced design and management skills was one response to the endemic situation that architects were facing.

The Master in Architectural Management and Design was designed by a multidisciplinary team of academics and professionals who envisioned the new profile that could respond both to societal demands and professional needs. The combination of soft ski...

Co-Working or Die! or How New Working Environments Are Changing The World

2013-12-10T15:51:00-05:00

This sponsored post is brought to you by IE School of Architecture & Design:

The word Design is beginning to feel a little bit short to define some of the concepts that certain architectural firms are currently developing in the field of working environments.

Their action´s range from the design of furniture to the urban scale, but they all have in common the belief that the new ways of working and living based in cooperation and sharing of knowledge are rapidly changing the world.

Co-working clusters like IMPACT HUB are already based in more than 40 cities worldwide, while global tech companies like Google are creating shared open spaces for young entrepreneurs.

Even cities like Las Vegas are trying to regenerate their districts through the creation of “coworking families”.

Join the IE Master in Work Space Design to learn from some of the outstanding design professionals that are undertaking these fascinating works worldwide.

The Sustainability Hangover: a film starring architects.

2013-10-25T17:49:00-04:00

Brought to you by IE School of Architecture & Design:

By the Academic Director of the IE Master in Architectural Management and Design, Juan Lago Novás.

I’m sure most of us have seen the inspiring talk by Bjarke Ingels at TED about “Hedonistic sustainability”, but I would like to reflect about it from an educational point of view and the responsibility of educators about this.

One of the many positive situations that this world economic crisis has produced, is probably the fact that our teen age in the 21st century has finished. There are no more parties, no more “everything is going to be ok” and no more cash to spend in that last drink… Architects must start taking responsibilities towards our environment, and I mean an environment beyond trees on buildings or birds on trendy images. We all know by now the impact that the AEC industry has in the green environment. Over the last two decades, architects have done a big effort to design more sustainable buildings, sustainable...

IE Master in Work Space Design and the Serendipity-Maker Scholarship

2013-10-17T14:56:00-04:00

Brought to you by IE School of Architecture & Design:

“For professionals involved in the design processes of innovative work environments”

The IE Masters in Work Space Design in collaboration with the Royal College of Arts in London is a post graduate course that addresses the implications of change in our contemporary work place. The program seeks to provide an innovative understanding of the relationship between organizational culture and architectural concerns; paying special attention to the interior design of the work environment and its relation with branding, efficiency and social responsibility.

The Master in Work Space Design gives students access to an intimate conversation with the most pioneering architects and firms in work space design through its revolution at work lecture series. Guest lecturers include: ROGERS STIRK HARBOUR + PARTNERS, OMA, SEVIL PEACH ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN, GENSLER, PENTAGRAM, JUMP STUDIOS, STUDIOS ARCHITECTURE, STUDIO TILT, ARUP, HAWORTH...

Apple store unearths hospital ruins in Madrid, but construction continues without delay

2013-07-10T23:26:00-04:00

The director of the Madrid heritage department, Jaime Ignacio Muñoz of the Popular Party, explained to EL PAÍS that Apple had been instructed to change the flooring of the basement so as to “symbolically” trace the outline of these newly discovered walls. The walls themselves will then be covered up again so the floor of the new store can be placed on top. The actual original foundations of the hospital will not be visible.

IE Master in Architectural Management and Design and IE Master in Work Space Design present

2013-07-05T18:04:00-04:00

“So you want to be famous?". Peter Murray shares his 7 rules of message design for architects.
“Co-designing Workspace". Oliver Marlow explains the TILT Method, his vision about the past, the present and the future of workspace, and how it’s all about people.

This series of online master classes and conferences have served as a forum for students to participate in open discussions between scholars, critics, independent professionals, entrepreneurs, curators and cultural activists.

IE School of Architecture & Design is one of the leading architecture schools in Europe. Through its unique combination of design, innovation and management, IE School of Architecture & Design expands the boundaries of traditional architectural education. IE welcomes students who seek challenges and aspire to become leaders in the dynamic world of architecture and design.

The Master in Architectural Management and Design combines management with advanced design studies, allowing participa...

Architecture, Cities and Nature

2013-06-11T19:13:00-04:00

Date: June 19, 2013. 5:00 PM Madrid time
Title: “Architecture, Cities and Nature”
Speaker: Stan Allen,SAA Prinicipal. Academic Advisor at IE Master in Architectural Design.

IE Master in Architectural Design presents the Online Master Classes series.

Introducing: “Architecture, Cities and Nature”

Traditional histories of Urbanism have seen the city as something separate from nature, organized according to its own rules and conventions. Given the current emphasis on environment and sustainability, and recent experiments in the sustainable urbanism, it makes sense to revisit the history of the city from a new perspective. This seminar will look briefly at the history of the city from the 19th century to the present through the lens of landscape and nature. Beginning with Haussmann and Cerda, we will look at Fredrick Law Olmsted and the City Beautiful Movement, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Broadacre City proposal and post-war suburban development in the US, ending with the emergenc...

Codesigning Workspace: The future for collaborative environments

2013-05-30T13:00:00-04:00

Date: June 25, 2013, 5:00 PM, Madrid
Title: "Codesigning Workspace: The future for collaborative environments"
Speaker: Oliver Marlow, Studio Tilt. Professor at IE Master in Work Space Design.

The IE Master in Work Space Design presents the Online Master Classes series.

Introducing: "Codesigning Workspace: The future for collaborative environments" with Oliver Marlow from Studio Tilt.

"Collaboration is by its very definition about people, and about transforming their relationships with one another. Using space as a way to transform these relationships is at the heart of a collaborative environment: It needs to be open, inspiring, collegiate and creative.

Designing workspace is changing too, to keep up. Without the user at the heart of workspace design a space will suffer in its conception. But fostering and harnessing these values as the space evolves is the crucial next step to the environment of the future, remaining adaptable, interactive, and iterative. How do we do...

So you want to be famous?

2013-05-28T17:42:00-04:00

Date: June 13, 2013, 5:00 PM, Madrid
Title: "So you want to be famous?"
Speaker: Peter Murray, Wordsearch Communications and NLA Founder. Professor at IE Master in Architectural Management and Design.

The IE Master in Architectural Management and Design presents the Online Master Classes series.

Introducing: "So you want to be famous?" with Peter Murray from Wordsearch Communications.

"Peter Murray discusses the way that throughout the ages architects have used media to promote ideas and projects, to increase their profile and, ultimately, win more work. The lessons of Palladio, Corbusier, Foster, Gehry and Koolhaas are highly relevant to today's practitioners."

To register, click here.

IE Master in Architectural Management and Design program bridges the gap between design and business

2013-04-22T18:03:00-04:00

IE Master in Architectural Management and Design is a 13 month program aimed to bridge the gap that exists between advanced design and the business in the architectural field. The innovative and pioneering content of this master course lies in the combination of IE's well known entrepreneurial spirit and business expertise in conjunction with the design approach of IE School of Architecture.

Its blended format (a combination between online sessions with on-site periods ) allows students to meet their professional obligations while studying.

The Architect's Backstage lecture series will enrich the students experience through direct contact with leaders of top architecture practices, some of whom Pritzker Prize Laureates, will explain key insights to achieve excellence in design.

David Chipperfield Architects. Andrew Phillips
Foster and Partners. Richard Mateu
GENSLER. Duncan Swinhoe
ShoP Architects. Gregg Pasquarelli
Perkins Eastman. Bradford Perkins
...

An Old Slaughterhouse Is Now A Public Cinema Center

2012-05-11T13:18:00-04:00

When architects and designers are called in to redesign a space that already exists for a specific reason and their goal is to reinvent that space for an entirely different use, professionals are faced with a duality of responsibility and potential. In order to respect what once was and bring truth and beauty to the space that is without time or purpose, the task at hand becomes visceral. Questions arise as to how we want people to feel in this space.

Spain protest; photos.

2011-05-17T15:19:26-04:00

"Lo llaman democracia y no lo es. No nos mires, únete". Son los gritos de medio millar de manifestantes en Sevilla. Pretenden convocar una acampada esta semana.

While American news media is flooded by word of Arnold's secret baby, in Spain dozens of thousands of young people and others have congregated in major plazas around the May 15 movement. They are rejecting both major political parties and calling for an end to neoliberal austerity measures.