New iconic life

An old building in the heart of Madrid’s financial centre has been given a new energy efficient lease of life thanks to Guardian Glass.

After two decades out of service, Castellana 77 has begun a new iconic life thanks to Luis Vidal + Arquitectos. The original 1977 tower is now a 62-high office building, which received the prestigious LEED Platinum certification, helped in part by Guardian Glass products in the faccade.

Clever use of natural light and the desire to create a strong identity for the building to stand out in its environment were two of the essential pillars for the architectural project.

According to Luis Vidal: “The goal was to update the building, resulting in a new property that is both flexible and sustainable, while creating high quality commercial space with a new image incorporated into the skyline of Madrid, a city which respects its roots, but is still forward looking.”

This has been achieved with an integral restoration, primarily focused on building a new facade with a sharp vertical modulation that uses Guardian SunGuard SN 70/41 coated glass in a high selectivity glazed curtain wall.

Extra solar protection is provided by using fins with a 60cm overhang to provide shade (separated from the main facade by a 15cm gap for maintenance and cleaning). These work in conjunction with Guardian glass to further improve the general performance of the building.

Over a total area of 21,000m2, architecture and construction works also included the upgrade of all the facilities in Castellana 77, as well as the transformation of its 18 floors above ground (16,261m2 in total), making the ground floor layout more flexible.

The ground floor can hold both offices and commercial space. The original four storeys used for parking have been regenerated, as well as an additional floor for general building facilities.