REFURBISHMENT OF CANALEJAS COMPLEX IN MADRID

The block was formerly composed by six different buildings in terms of age, height and architectonical style, but with a common use for banking and residential purposes. The new project leads to a functional internal unification in order to accommodate a new hotel, a shopping mall, luxury residences and facility parking. The heritage protection level of the former buildings is inequable, which implies differences in the magnitude of the original elements to be preserved.

The aspect that influences the most the construction development is the one that is related to the mandatory façade preservation, which implies specific temporary structures installation, designed to bear both vertical and horizontal loads affecting the façade during the demolition process and later inner reconstruction.

The new building structure is mainly composed by solid slabs bearing on concrete columns and cores, but the continuity of the vertical elements is frequently interrupted so large propping elements are required. High-depth composite beams are the most common elements as well as the truss grillage that bears six floors over the great Ball Room, minimizing the amount of columns that pass through this iconic space.

A ground retaining system is needed in order to carry out a four-storey digging in a historic city centre. This system shall not affect the outside of the building location, especially with respect to pre-existing infrastructures as large supply pipes or underground galleries. These conditions are covered by means of an “upward-downward” construction process.