The gem of urban regeneration, OMBÚ
The old engine factory now functions as an innovative office building that conserves its old size as well as the outstanding architectural elements of the original. Do you want to know it?
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"...Things happen - says Michaut - much the same as in Nature, where new ground is continuously forming from the erosion of old rock…”
Luis de Landecho Jordán, Architect
In his acceptance speech to the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts, on “Originality in Art”, on 18 June 1905, Luis de Landecho Jordán spoke of the respect needed for the legacy of those who came before us when building a new work. It was the same for poetry, painting and (so why not?) architecture, the field he mastered with such intelligence and unique vision.
The Spanish architect left his mark on some of the most important buildings in Madrid at the beginning of the 20th Century, like the Ateneo and the Hotel Ritz. But his work can be seen in all kinds of apartment buildings, town houses, hospitals and factories in the city.
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One of these is the industrial gas complex - Sociedad de Gasificación Industrial del Cerro de la Plata – where Luis de Landecho employed his unique architectural language in its freest and most unadulterated form, using the rational basics of industrial utilitarianism, but with formal solutions of great beauty, neo-Gothic and neo-Mudejar elements, transforming the building into one of the most original in the Madrid classic eclectic style, demonstrating that the industrial and the aesthetic could sit successfully side by side.
The building, constructed between 1903 and 1909, undoubtedly reflected the city’s economic expansion at the time. After years of disuse, ACCIONA acquired the historic complex and restored it respecting the original style with the help of the studios of Foster & Partners and Ortiz y León Architects, converting it into a unique complex of offices founded on sustainability.
Join us for a stroll down Madrid’s Ombú street to discover this quite stunning example of urban regeneration.
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OMBÚ, INNOVATION AND RESPECT FOR THE PAST, TODAY AND YESTERYEAR
The spirit of restoration undertaken by ACCIONA, with the architectural studios of Foster & Partners and Ortiz y León, at the OMBÚ site is deeply entrenched in the words that Landecho used in that famous speech. A project in which the factory’s former vehicle bay now functions as an innovative office building that conserves its old size as well as the outstanding architectural elements of the original, and where sustainability and energy efficiency are its key features.
The edifice consists of a main hall, an annex and another building with workspaces for other uses. ACCIONA has also developed 2,400 m2 of green areas ceded to it by Madrid City Hall for public use, a part of the project undertaken according Norman Foster’s design criteria and the pillars of the sustainable regeneration policies used for ACCIONA works.
The OMBÚ restoration includes circular economy and urban regeneration actions that impact positively on the area. Find out how in this picture gallery.
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BIOPHILIC ARCHITECTURE TO CONNECT PEOPLE WITH NATURE
The OMBÚ restoration project, set in a privileged environment, is a strong commitment to biophilic architecture, foreseeing new working trends which are increasingly in demand. But what exactly is biophilic architecture?
Biophilic architecture is a way of building in which natural materials such as wood are used and more plant life is introduced indoors, practices that go beyond the merely aesthetic. Recent studies have added a scientific basis to this kind of design and indicate that contact with natural elements in a workspace improves the wellbeing of people and increases their productivity.
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More than 350 trees, and 28,000 different local species of vegetation with low watering needs were planted in OMBÚ.
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QUALITY AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY CERTIFICATION
All the activities carried out by ACCIONA at OMBÚ, which come under the umbrella of sustainability and regeneration, are recognised by a series of certificates that testify to their quality.
The OMBÚ building boasts an energy rating that meets the European Commission's Nearly Zero-Energy Building standards. Additionally, it is certified under the LEED standard for "Core & Shell" and the WELL well-being standard. For both certifications, it has achieved the Platinum level, the highest possible rating.
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OMBÚ is the work of two giants of architecture, each expressing their respective era. The commitment of both to innovation and a respect for legacy have brought them together across time to define ACCIONA’s project of sustainability and sustainable regeneration.
Sources:
Real Academia de la Historia, Real Academia de las Bellas Artes de San Fernando
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Canfranc, the regeneration of a dream
ACCIONA's refurbishment of the emblematic Canfranc building and the creation of a new station with a new track bed is now a reality that will return the whisper of railway sleepers to a genuinely railway landscape.
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