Refurbishment And Extension Of The Buenavista Cultural Center / Padilla Nicás Arquitectos

Architects: Mariluz Sánchez Moral, Padilla Nicás Arquitectos
Area: 2500 m²
Year: 2023
Photographs: José Hevia
Manufacturers: Cristaleria Iberica, Desmon, GRUPO PAMESA CERAMICA, TAU Ceramica, Prissmacer, Ecoceramic, Geotiles, Navarti, LedsC4, Roca, Simer S.A, Tarkett, Tempio
Architect and Construction Management: Ana Molina
Architect: Alicia Peña
Architecture Student: Isidora Vásquez
Project Quantity Surveyors: Gema Campillo, Sonia Pérez, Miguel Ángel Paneda
Structure Engineer: Miguel Ángel León
Promotion: Dirección General de Arquitectura y Conservación del Patrimonio (Ayuntamiento de Madrid)
General Contractor: Ferrovial-Construcción, S.A.
City: Madrid
Country: Spain

Padilla Nicás Arquitectos undertook the refurbishment and extension of the Buenavista Cultural Center with the goal of creating a new urban space that connects the courtyard to a nearby square on Cartagena Street. The project aims to reveal views of the historic Casa de Baños de la Guindalera’s rear façades. To achieve this, the new building is elevated on slender concrete and steel pillars, creating a flexible covered space that can be opened or closed as needed. This addition completes the trapezoid-shaped block, joining the Old Bath House (now a Cultural Centre) and an adjacent building from 2006. The Casa de Baños retains its existing uses, such as the library and assembly hall, while the new building accommodates recreational spaces, including multipurpose rooms and workshops. Structurally, the new building’s design includes robust 95 cm high ribbed slabs to support large spans and provide open spaces for sports halls. The exterior of the new building features restored original mortars of the Casa de Baños for continuity, while the upper levels are clad in vertical porcelain pieces, referencing the exposed brick façades common in the neighborhood.

Refurbishment and extension of the buenavista cultural center / padilla nicás arquitectos

From the outset, the primary objective of the project was to create an urban space that connects the courtyard’s interior with a small square on the adjacent Cartagena Street. This new space would also restore views of the rear façades of the notable Casa de Baños de la Guindalera, reintroducing this historic aspect to the city.

To align this goal with the required program of uses, the new building is elevated above ground level on slender concrete and steel pillars, covering a large part of its footprint. This design creates a covered urban space that can be opened or enclosed as needed, depending on use and schedule.

This approach allows for the addition of a new building within the 2,000 m² trapezoid-shaped block, which also includes two existing structures of differing character and construction dates: the Old Bath House from 1932, converted into a Cultural Centre in the early 1980s, and a building attached to the party wall from 2006.

A key decision was to preserve the existing functions of the Casa de Baños, including the library, assembly hall, and support spaces, to respect the building’s established character. In contrast, the new building accommodates recreational uses, such as multipurpose rooms and workshops, which are designed to fit within the geometry of the site, accounting for the plot’s boundaries and required setbacks from the surrounding buildings.

To create the covered urban space, the new building’s structure needs to be robust enough to span large distances on the lower floors. This necessitates a first-floor ceiling slab with 95 cm high ribs. This structural requirement extends to the upper floors as well, where the sports halls must operate as a unified space, requiring most of their surface area to be free of supporting columns.

For the building envelope, the restoration of the original mortars on the Casa de Baños greatly enhances its refreshed exterior look, and this same finish is applied to the façades of the new building, creating a visual dialogue between the structures. The rough texture and slightly ochre tone are fully visible on the lower floors, which are most closely aligned with the Casa de Baños both visually and spatially. On the upper floors, however, this finish is covered by vertical porcelain pieces that move freely in front of the openings, relating to the exposed brick façades commonly found in the surrounding neighborhood.