Rafael del Pino Auditorium Building | Rafael de La-Hoz Architects

Rafael del Pino Auditorium Building, image courtesy of Rafael de La-Hoz Architects

Rafael del Pino Auditorium Building, image courtesy of Rafael de La-Hoz Architects

Spain-based Rafael de La-Hoz Architects has designed the Rafael del Pino Auditorium Building next to Madrid’s Paseo de la Castellana. The facade of the building stands out for its metallic arboreal structure that supports the structure of the building on both sides.

“It is about transforming a garden into an inhabited garden”

Rafael de La-Hoz Architects

+ Project description courtesy of Rafael de La-Hoz Architects

After the restoration of the small palace designed by Salaberry in 1907 on the Paseo de la Castellana, a new building has been projected in the old garden.

The available space has been interpreted as the garden that it is, instead of treating it as just an ordinary plot of land.

Consequently, the project’s points of reference are not the heterogeneous architectures that surround it, not even the oldest of them (Salaberry’s palace), but rather the place where it is situated: a garden.

The aim is not just to replace the garden by a building but to transform the garden into an inhabited garden. After transforming the existing plant layout into a sustaining geometry, the solid habitable space is inserted into it.

Rafael del Pino Auditorium Building, image courtesy of Rafael de La-Hoz Architects

The ribbon on the Auditorium was cut today by Madrid’s Mayor, Alberto Ruiz Gallardon. Also in attendance were the Vice-president of the Fundacion Rafael del Pino, Maria del Pino, and the building’s architect, Rafael de La-Hoz.

Transparent, open and inspired by the garden that previously existed in the same space, the project exhibits a spectacular arboreal structure that supports and hugs the inhabitable body of the building on both sides.

Based on the idea of transparency, the new Rafael del Pino Auditorium is located on the ground floor, with a capacity of 250 people and with views of the street, it will have the latest cutting-edge technology. The Fundacion Rafael del Pino wishes to use the auditorium to contribute to the promotion of culture and knowledge in Spain in addition to offering a new place for debates in the city of Madrid.

Rafael de La-Hoz conceptually explains the project:

The reference of the project is not the heterogeneous architecture that surrounds it, or the most long-lived-el palacete-but rather its location: a garden. Therefore, it is not about substituting a garden for a building, but rather about transforming a garden into an inhabitable garden. By transforming the existing plant network into sustaining geometry, the inhabitable solidity is introduced.

Located on a side street off of Madrid’s Paseo de la Castellana, at number thirty-two of Fortuny street, this 5000 m2 building is distributed throughout five floors, an attic and two levels underground, located in the old garden of the palacete built by Salaberry in 1907.

The project stands out for its metallic (steel) arboreal structure that supports the structure of the building on both sides. This has been possible thanks to the application of new technology in laser cutting systems and the application of new computer systems and topography systems that allowed for its assembly as well as the curved and inclined shapes of its north facade, without a doubt, one of the outstanding features of the project.

Rafael del Pino Auditorium Building, image courtesy of Rafael de La-Hoz Architects

Another remarkable characteristic is the transparency and translucency of the building. The described metallic structure and the use of concrete floor structures supported on the pillars allow for an absolute transparency of the 525 square meters of surface area on each floor. The absence of pillars in the center and the glass facades allow natural light to enter the interior, creating an open and transparent building.

Site plan, courtesy of Rafael de La-Hoz Architects

Ground floor plan, courtesy of Rafael de La-Hoz Architects

Pent house plan, courtesy of Rafael de La-Hoz Architects

Elevation 1, courtesy of Rafael de La-Hoz Architects

Elevation 2, courtesy of Rafael de La-Hoz Architects

Elevation 3, courtesy of Rafael de La-Hoz Architects

Elevation 4, courtesy of Rafael de La-Hoz Architects

Transversal section, courtesy of Rafael de La-Hoz Architects

Transversal section, courtesy of Rafael de La-Hoz Architects

Wall section, courtesy of Rafael de La-Hoz Architects

+ Project credits / data

Name of the project: Rafael del Pino Auditorium Building in Madrid
Address: C/Fortuny 32 c/v Rafael Calvo. Madrid (Spain)
Start date and end date of the project: 2004-2008
Built-up surface: 4.815 m2

Architect: Rafael de La-Hoz Castanys
Promoter: Polán S.A.
Construction company: Ferrovial Agromán
Collaborating Architects: Manuel Doménech, Antonia Salvá, Carlos Burguete, Dante Frascaroli y Flavia Toselli.
Installations Engineering: Úrculo Pgi y Departamento técnico de Ferrovial
Structures Engineering: Pondio Ingenieros. Juan Calvo
Metallic Structures: Metalcom
Façades: Bellapart Engineering
Consultants in Façades: Estudio Marshall & Asociados

+ All images and drawings courtesy of Rafael de La-Hoz Architects

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