Euro Exim Bank

Madrid – go for your conference, stay for its architecture

For those looking to plan a business conference in a lively, thriving city marked by eclectic historic and contemporary architecture, Madrid could be just the ticket. In recent decades, Madrid has undergone a huge expansion of its overall infrastructure for convention and conference facilities and special-event venues. A congenial blend of an old European city and modern facilities, Madrid has culture, style and energy. Its transportation infrastructure has played an important role in helping the city attract congresses and incentive programs: a fourth terminal has been added at Madrid Barajas Airport, the subway has been enlarged and new four and five-star hotels have been added to the urban fabric. The International Congress & Convention Association has identified Madrid as the third most popular city in the world for congresses, and the Union of International Associations has identified it as the seventh city in the world for convention tourism.

The International Congress & Convention Association has identified Madrid as the third most popular city in the world for congresses

 

For business tourists with a bit of time to spare, Madrid has many architectural highlights. As Spain’s monarchical dynasties shifted from Flanders to Austria to France, so did the principal styles that shaped every period. The baroque, renaissance, romantic, and other architectural styles coexist to provide a living testimony to Madrid’s grandeur. Although the streets and neighbourhoods for the most part remain historic, the city is also punctuated with moments of engaging and interesting contemporary works by such iconic contemporary architects as Richard Rogers, Rafael Moneo and Herzog and de Meuron.

Five of Madrid’s top architectural highlights:

  • Any architectural tour of Madrid should begin at the Barajas airport if you happen to arrive at terminal four. Designed by Antonio Lamela and Richard Rogers, winning them the Royal Institute of British Architects’ 2006 Stirling Prize, the terminal is configured to give passengers a stress-free start to their journey through the use of glass panes instead of walls and domes in the roof that allow natural light to pass through. According to Rogers “airports are the cathedrals of our time”. So, just like in a cathedral, the passages in the terminal are flooded with light.
  • The Gran Via, an upscale shopping street located in central Madrid, is considered a showcase of early-20th-century architecture. This major thoroughfare was commissioned in the mid 19th century to connect the Calle de Alcalá with the Plaza de España. Completed in 1929, it gave architects the opportunity to create large buildings in the latest architectural styles. These included the Vienna Secession style as well as Plateresque, Neo-Mudéjar and Art Deco styles. The Telefónica Building, Europe’s first skyscraper, can be found on the Grand Via.
  • The Royal Palace (Palacio Real) is the largest royal palace in Western Europe and possibly Madrid’s most beautiful building. Initially designed by Filippo Juvarra to accommodate the court of Philip V, the palace remains the official home of the royal family. It is built on the site of the old Alcázar, the Moorish castle destroyed by fire in 1734 and is a beautiful example of the finest Italian architectural style of the 18th century. The palace contains furniture, tapestries, paintings and ceramics as well as other important works of art and frescos by famous artists such as Tiépolo, Velázquez and Goya.
  • Rafael Moneo’s recent extension to the neoclassical Prado Museum, designed by Juan de Villanueva in the 18th century, is a beautifully crafted building that is as much a work of urban planning and covert civil engineering as it is a work of art. It is a substantial construction of concrete, granite, marble, oak, cedar, steel and bronze, with limited and subtle use of glass. Its huge foyer, with a cafe and bookshop, is very modern, designed in contrast to the baroque mass of Villanueva’s gallery visible through its long row of floor-to-ceiling windows.
  • Located near the Prado and housed in a converted 1899 power station is the Caixa Forum modern art gallery. Designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron and completed in 2007, the museum retains the power station’s four original facades. Its two most remarkable new features are a vertical garden on one of the exterior walls and a sense of levitation provided by the removal of a granite base surrounding the original power station and the resulting impression of building floating over a large plaza.
  • The world’s first inclined skyscrapers are also in Madrid. Designed in 1996 by American architects Philip Johnson and John Burgee, the Puerta de Europa towers are twin office buildings that rise 114 metres into the air and, due to their angle of inclination of 15 degrees, stretch 30 metres across a road that divided the two buildings. Lean toward each other, the towers create a portal that, being at the northern end of the business district, becomes the gateway to Europe, hence the name of the project.