Plans For The 5th Tower Begin To Take Shape

1 April 2016 – Expansión

The skyscraper, located in the heart of the capital’s financial district, will house the new headquarters of the IE University, as well as a clinic and shopping centre.

The plans for the fifth skyscraper in the Cuatro Torres complex – the new financial district in the capital, which currently comprises the Torre de Cristal, Torre Caja Madrid, Torre Sacyr Vallehermoso and Torre Espacio – are taking shape and a date has been set for the inauguration of the tower: the end of 2019, according to the IE University, one of its future tenants.

The business school will expand its facilities and open its new headquarters in the north of Madrid.

Specifically, the fifth tower will house the IE Campus in a building that will be 165 m tall and have a surface area of 50,000 m2 on the Paseo de la Castellana. In addition, this site will also be home to a clinic and a shopping centre.

The plot of land belongs to the Town Hall of Madrid, which has granted its use to Inmobiliaria Espacio. In parallel, the subsidiary of the Villar Mir Group has reached an agreement with the IE University to offer it this space under a 20-year rental agreement, which may be renewed for additional 55 years.

Details of the project

“From now on, the Town Hall of Madrid, Inmobiliaria Espacio and IE University will work together to ensure that the project meets the needs of the city of Madrid in the best possible way”, explain sources at IE. According to these sources, work will be carried out over the next three months to determine the “details” of the project.

OHL Desarrollos will be responsible for the construction of the new infrastructure, which will include auditoriums, sports facilities, green spaces and a 35-storey tower with classrooms and educational areas. Meanwhile, the studios Fenwick Iribarren and Serrano-Suñer Arquitectura will lead the design of the project.

At the new IE Campus, university degree training will be delivered in areas such as Business Administration, Architecture, Technology, International Relations, Law, Communication and Psychology.

In parallel, the IE University, which has been located on María de Molina in Madrid since it was first founded, will continue to perform activities for the business school and other post-graduate programs at its current facilities.

According to the institution, the IE Campus will have a “new, cutting-edge” design for its educational space, offering open areas dedicated to teaching, teamwork and networking between the university and business communities. The Campus will also have a vertical space, which will reproduce the working environment of companies and organisations from all over the world, as well as a horizontal space with sports facilities, large auditoriums and green areas for exclusive use by the institution’s educational community.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake