Legazpi Fruits Market (Madrid) / Second Prize: Ayala Arquitectos

The preexisting group of warehouses from the beggining of the 20th century, forming a huge gap in the middle, is very exciting spatially, so we feel its conservation to be very important.

At the same time, the body of the building supposes a challenging change of use, solved with a totally new design, but with a very strong link to the existing architecture. This means that the old building does not predominate but does not disappear either.

More precisely, we maintain the whole existing structure but recover its original configuration, which was lost years ago.

To comply with the new program an extra 30.000 m2 have to be built on the plot segregated towards Legazpi Square, where there are different height limitations due to the different official street alignments: 30m towards Maestro Arbós Street, 50m towards Vado de Santa Catalina and somewhat more (up to a maximum 70m) with the building´s deviations.

In order to connect both buildings, a proposal of four towers is made, each responding to its alignment limitations, and which are connected to the four warehouses of the old market through large courtyards which articulate the public entrances to the different towers and areas.

Now, so as to connect the building attached to the four towers to the city, the arm which is parallel to the river becomes a balcony housing all the building’s public leisure activities. The roof is made lighter leaving only the structure as a lattice. Unfortunately the competition rules did not allow the complete demolition of this arm which would have allowed us to integrate the central courtyard with the river. However due to the huge dimensions of the first floor beams, as originally the were meant to support traffic, this balcony can be populated with large masses of vegetation, achieving this sought integration.

The glass façades have blinds and curtains darkening some areas, and letting us catch a climpse of the original market façade in others, unifying the whole image of the building.

The original holes in the floor’s structure are recovered as smaller courtyards, configuring office modules where the program is developed.
Public access happens from Legazpi square, through the central courtyard, where a huge glass cube distributes the different flows of people, and which can also be used out of office hours.

The rest of entrances are on the surrounding streets. Civil servants in front of each small courtyard, and authorities under their area, with direct access by car. Also, in sunny weather, the assembly hall opens onto the river gardens over the underground M-30 ring road establishing another relationship for the building with its environment.