Warehouse green
Originally built in 1905 by architect Luis de Landecho, designer of Madrid’s Ritz Hotel. The brick-built warehouse is the only surviving relic of the former Industrial Gasification Society, once supplying energy to its surrounding areas. Ombú transforms industrial wasteland into new city garden.
📍Location
🏢Building Details
Completed 2022
10,000 sq. m. new office space
Adaptive reuse – retrofit of historic industrial building
👷🏾♀️Developer & Contractor
José Manuel Entrecanales – Chairman @ ACCIONA
✍️Architect & Designers
Emilio Ortiz Zaforas – Partner @ Foster + Partners
Nigel Dancey – Senior Partner & Head of Studio @ Foster + Partners
Chris Trott – Partner & Head of Sustainability @ Foster + Partners
Miguel de Leon Ortiz – Director @ Ortiz.León Arquitectos
🌱Sustainability
Capitalises on existing load-bearing structure that supports pitched steel trusses: historic building envelope retained to conserve 10,000+ tonnes of original brick
Lightweight structure inserted inside the space made from sustainably sourced chestnut wood from local forests + allows for spatial flexibility
Timber structure saves 1,600+ tonnes of CO2 and is recyclable and demountable
Glazing incorporates photovoltaic technologies that generate electricity
Operational energy = 35% less than comparable building
🥦 Wellbeing
Central skylight floods interior with natural light
Unifies private + public land with green landscaping that extends to adjoining Méndez Álvaro station
New courtyard allows staff to comfortably work outdoors: connecting to a 12,400 sq m park with 350 trees + areas for informal meetings sheltered by green canopy
🎈Bonus feature
Ombú has a quality of construction rarely seen in the UK. To understand why, Architect Ortiz Zaforas mentions how the building’s owner was also contractor, energy provider and structural engineer. This, he says, cut out the middleman and ‘most’ of the arguments typically witnessed between client and contractor.
🔗 Check it out
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