An abandoned industrial building originally built in 1905 is currently undergoing a revitalization project to become a new office building for Acciona, a Spanish sustainable infrastructure and energy company. The Madrid-based building is being designed by Foster + Partners and will include over 107,000-sf of new office space and a unique mix of private and public land with green landscaping.
The building was originally built as a natural gas plan that supplied energy to the surrounding areas and had fallen into disuse until Acciona acquired it in 2017. The project will introduce a series of stepped floors that create terraces sheltered under the historic roof.
The lightweight structure will be made from timber sustainably sourced from local forests. It will allow for spatial flexibility while also integrating lighting, ventilation, and other services within. The timber structure will save over 1,000 tons of CO2 and is recyclable and demountable. A central skylight will bring natural light into the building’s interior, reducing the need for artificial lighting. Silicon plates that generate electricity will also be incorporated.
The project will include a new courtyard (within which is a new ground floor space with a garden roof) that leads to a large 100,000-sf+ park with 300 trees, outdoor working spaces, and areas for informal meetings.
The project is currently under construction.
Related Stories
Office Buildings | Dec 1, 2023
Amazon office building doubles as emergency housing for Seattle families
The unusual location for services of this kind serves over 300 people per day. Mary's Place spreads across eight of the office's floors—all designed by Graphite—testing the status quo for its experimental approach to homelessness support.
Engineers | Nov 27, 2023
Kimley-Horn eliminates the guesswork of electric vehicle charger site selection
Private businesses and governments can now choose their new electric vehicle (EV) charger locations with data-driven precision. Kimley-Horn, the national engineering, planning, and design consulting firm, today launched TREDLite EV, a cloud-based tool that helps organizations develop and optimize their EV charger deployment strategies based on the organization’s unique priorities.
Market Data | Nov 27, 2023
Number of employees returning to the office varies significantly by city
While the return-to-the-office trend is felt across the country, the percentage of employees moving back to their offices varies significantly according to geography, according to Eptura’s Q3 Workplace Index.
Office Buildings | Nov 10, 2023
3 important early considerations for office-to-residential conversions
Scott Campagna, PE, Senior Director of Housing, IMEG Corp, shares insights from experts on office-to-residential conversion issues that may be mitigated when dealt with early.
Laboratories | Nov 8, 2023
Boston’s FORUM building to support cutting-edge life sciences research and development
Global real estate companies Lendlease and Ivanhoé Cambridge recently announced the topping-out of FORUM, a nine-story, 350,000-sf life science building in Boston. Located in Boston Landing, a 15-acre mixed-use community, the $545 million project will achieve operational net zero carbon upon completion in 2024.
Giants 400 | Nov 6, 2023
Top 100 Government Building Construction Firms for 2023
Hensel Phelps, Turner Construction, Clark Group, Fluor, and BL Harbert top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest government building sector general contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue from all government building sectors, including federal, state, local, military, and Veterans Affairs (VA) buildings.
Giants 400 | Nov 6, 2023
Top 90 Government Building Engineering Firms for 2023
Fluor, Jacobs, AECOM, WSP, and Burns & McDonnell head BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest government building sector engineering and engineering architecture (EA) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue from all government building sectors, including federal, state, local, military, and Veterans Affairs (VA) buildings.
Giants 400 | Nov 6, 2023
Top 170 Government Building Architecture Firms for 2023
Page Southerland Page, Gensler, Stantec, HOK, and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest government building sector architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue from all government building sectors, including federal, state, local, military, and Veterans Affairs (VA) buildings.
Office Buildings | Nov 2, 2023
Amazon’s second headquarters completes its first buildings: a pair of 22-story towers
Amazon has completed construction of the first two buildings of its second headquarters, located in Arlington, Va. The all-electric structures, featuring low carbon concrete and mass timber, help further the company’s commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2040 and 100% renewable energy consumption by 2030. Designed by ZGF Architects, the two 22-story buildings are on track to become the largest LEED v4 Platinum buildings in the U.S.
Adaptive Reuse | Nov 1, 2023
Biden Administration reveals plan to spur more office-to-residential conversions
The Biden Administration recently announced plans to encourage more office buildings to be converted to residential use. The plan includes using federal money to lend to developers for conversion projects and selling government property that is suitable for conversions.
