fications and its energy-efficiency rating of “A”. Now, let’s imagine we’re there on a guided tour. The building has an area of almost 12,000 square meters, spread over five floors: Floor 3 plus its terrace (125 square meters), Floor 2 (1,740), Floor 1 (2,503), Floor 0 (3,614), and the Garden Floor (3,671). Its philosophy centers on “sustainability, near-zero CO2 emissions and, at the same time, a positive social impact,” according to Teresa Saez, the project manager on behalf of ACCIONA’s real estate division, which is the internal client that commissioned the retrofit from the company’s construction business. “All of the building’s char-acter has been restored,” says Saez, “and of course if Norman Foster’s team is involved, the standards will be as high as possible.” ITS OWN ENERGY The complex is like a game of hopscotch. The building envelope includes over 10,000 tons of bricks from Landecho’s original construc- “WE’VE TRANSFORMED IT INTO A UNIQUE SPACE” The office area consists of a series of staggered floors built out of wood. There is room for these warm, open-plan floors to breathe in the ample space between their structure and the building’s original shell. “WE’VE TRANSFORMED IT INTO A UNIQUE SPACE” According to Andrés Pan de Soraluce, CEO of ACCIONA’s real estate business, the idea isn’t just to restore a heritage piece but to “employ an exemplary model of sustainability” to turn a totally disused building into a benchmark for urban rehabilitation. “The project has managed to cut the original building’s carbon footprint by 25%, and it is expected to use 35% less operational energy than would normally be expected,” he says. He also highlights that it is “the project with the largest proportion of wood ever built in Europe.” And not just any wood, but sustainably sourced timber from local forests, which reduces the impact of its transportation. In its natural state, it has already absorbed 1,600 tons of CO2, and it has been used to construct a fully demountable, recyclable interior structure. “For a building at risk of demolition,” continues the CEO, “in a degraded area where power was generated with coal, to become a benchmark for sustainability, rehabilitation, architecture, design, and connectivity, makes Ombú an innovative space, but I’d also venture to say that we have transformed it into a unique space”. Is that value passed on to the city? Pan de Soraluce believes it is very good news for Madrid that the area of Méndez Álvaro, where the refurbishment was completed, is experiencing a complete transformation, a phenomenon previously confined to the city’s western and northern districts. “We are playing a key role in that transformation, in line with ACCIONA’s policy of comprehensive rather than isolated actions.” In fact, the company signed its first Build-to-Rent project in Méndez Álvaro, consisting of 135 residences. It’s also developing another 455 homes in Madrid’s most important Build-to-Rent community. “These actions are modernizing and revitalizing this part of the city, and Ombú’s opening is significantly driving up the value of the office market, in addition to providing a strategic meeting place.”