Las Mercedes Business Park

Abstract

This ambitious speculative project forms an entire block located near the Barajas Airport of Madrid on a former industrial site, about 15 minutes by car away from the center. Bordered by four streets, one of them a busy artery leading into the heart of Madrid, the complex is rather turned inward than toward its relatively unattractive environment. Nine office buildings surround a central landscaped park, essentially forming a perimeter wall facing the streets and giving a sense of privacy or campus life to the users. Some of the T-shaped building volumes penetrate the central space, increasing the façade area facing onto the green center of the project. As it often happens, this project was developed by the architects with partners they had already worked with in the past, in this case, the Scottish investment firm Standard Life. Common facilities including a meeting room and service spaces serving the entire complex, while parking space and a connecting technical gallery link the buildings below ground and avoid the unsightly problem of vehicles parked in the central area. An umbrella-like system is used on the roofs to shield the buildings from Madrid’s intense summer heat. Brise-soleil panels and verandas further accentuate the architectural response to climatic conditions. Despite the idea of a perimeter wall that shields the Business Park from the outside world, the high-columned umbrella design together with a more warmly colored round structure serving as a common facility for the entire complex do create an opening and an inviting prospect into the interior of the project.