162
162

Caleido’s Makers to Create a Brand New Neighbourhood Around the Cuatro Torres

24 February 2018 – El Economista

The plans involve the creation of a street that will link the area surrounding the La Paz Hospital with Plaza de Castilla and which will have retail units, squares and terraces along it.

In two years time, the barren concourse that currently welcomes the employees that work in Madrid’s Cuatro Torres will be converted into the antechamber of a new retail and leisure space, which is going to be built in the north of Madrid with the arrival of the fifth tower, known as Caleido.

This project from Inmobiliaria Espacio and the Philippine firm Megaworld Corporation will result in the construction of a fifth iconic tower.  The latest addition to Madrid’s skyline will not for known for its height, given that at 160 m2 tall, it will be the shortest of its neighbours, but it will be recognised for the services and life that it is going to bring to the area.

The designs involve the creation of a high street, which will run from the La Paz Hospital area towards Plaza de Castilla, passing through the Madrid Business Area complex, where the Cuatro Torres are located, generating a neighbourhood vibe with several squares and terraces, as well as restaurants and areas for events. In this way, Caleido will not contain a shopping centre, but rather will offer different retail units, which will be opened opposite the new building and which will represent an addition to the businesses integrated into the property.

Specifically, the retail area, which is going to occupy a space of around 13,000 m2, will be distributed over the first level of the four-storey rectangular base on which the tower is going to be built.

The design of this project has been carried out by the architecture firm Fenwick Iribarren and represents that studio’s second piece of work in this office complex, given that it was also the brains behind Torre Espacio, which was also built by the Villar Mir Group (Espacio) back in the day (…).

According to Mark Fenwick, who founded the firm with Javier Iribarren in 1990, “Our objective with this project was to create a service area for the 24,000 people who work in the Cuatro Torres and whereby create urban spaces and meetings areas, such as squares and terraces, which are going to occupy around 7,000 m2, and which will join together the office complex with the neighbourhoods that surround it, to extend the use of this space to the whole community”, said the architect.

The construction of this project also includes the creation of a public park spanning more than 3 hectares, which is going to be located on the adjoining plot and which is also going to be managed by the property developer behind the tower. That space will house facilities for sports, culture and open-air concerts.

Madrid as a destination

In the academic year 2020-2021, Caleido is going to become the first vertical campus in Madrid, given that its main tenant is the Instituto de Empresa (IE), which will occupy all of the 36-storey tower and half of the horizontal building, leasing 50,000 m2 of space in total. The other part of the lower building is going to house an advanced medical centre to be operated by the Quirón-Salud Group (…).

The complex, whose development is expected to involve an investment of around €300 million, will also have a 1,250 space parking lot, 630 of which will be for public use. (…).

Espacio Caleido has already started to market the project, which hopes to attract trendy brands in fashion, technology, sports and restaurants. It is targeting international firms that do not have a presence yet in Spain and the plan is to start signing agreements after the summer. The complex is also considering the creation of leisure area that may house a cinema with an exclusivity concept, as well as a Gaming (videogames) and eSports (electronic sports) area.

Original story: El Economista (by Alba Brualla)

Translation: Carmel Drake