Skip to content

Tag: Spain

1

Published on 1 Comment on Telefonica Corporate University in La Roca del Vallès

Telefonica Corporate University In Parc de Bell-llo by​ Batlle & Roig Architects

Arch Daily publishes an interesting article on Telefonica Corporate University in La roca del Vallès. A beautiful construction indeed:

"Parc de Bell-lloc is a 122-hectare property situated on a hill, in the municipality of La Roca del Vallès, and is reached via the Granollers-Sant Celoni road. Most of the property is a rich mosaic of the oak and pine woods and farmland that is characteristic of the surroundings and of the Vallès county in general. In the 1960s, Caixa de Barcelona, the then owner of the land, built a large school on the peak of the hill as part of its community project.

The 18,000 m2 building, designed by the architect Manuel Baldrich i Tubau (Barcelona, 1911-1966), who also designed the Llars Mundet complex and Sant Jordi Swimming Pool in Barcelona, is constructed in the late rationalist style with Nordic references, and also displays the work of well-known artists of the time such as Josep Maria Subirachs and Arlette Martí".

telefonica - Telefonica Corporate University in La Roca del Vallès

 

...continue reading "Telefonica Corporate University in La Roca del Vallès"

Published on Leave a comment on Spanish Office Market Goes Down

300,000 square metres of new offices are expected to come on to the market in Madrid over the course of 2012

Madrid 300x225 - Spanish Office Market Goes DownAccording to an article published in Global Real Estate, the office market in Madrid appears to have taken a downward turn since the beginning of 2012. The vacancy rate in the Spanish city has been creeping up over the past few months, while a rising supply of such commercial properties coupled with falling demand is putting pressure on rents.

300,000 square metres of new offices are expected to come on to the market in Madrid over the course of 2012; however, demand is sliding, with many occupiers choosing to downsize due to the current economic climate.

On average, the rent charged for Spanish commercial real estate in Madrid's central business district is now nearly 40 per cent below its peak, and the organisation is forecasting prime rents will stand at 309 euros per sq m per year by the end of the first quarter of 2012.

Barcelona also made it into the top ten, ranked as the seventh most desirable location in which to have retail premises on the continent. 

Published on Leave a comment on <!--:en-->A Country Immersed in Nationwide Protests and Luxury Property Projects<!--:-->

Dubai hotel chains come to Mallorca. Luxury Strategic Plans set in Costa del Sol

suitcase 300x200 - <!--:en-->A Country Immersed in Nationwide Protests and Luxury Property Projects<!--:-->"As the pain of Spain's property crash continues to hit people hard, a nationwide movement is now fighting back", writes Tom Barridge, BBC News correspondent.

These words strongly crash, just like our Real Estate Market crashed, against "other realities" such as Dubai hotel chains coming to Mallorca and Luxury Strategic Plans in Costa del Sol.

Yesterday, February the 29th, thousands of citizens took the streets in protest. No need to explain why. Pure impotence could be registered by hundreds of images shared via facebook, twitter, flickr and other social networks.

Younger Spaniards for the first time don't believe parents who have told them for decades that they should always buy instead of rent and treat real estate as an investment that will never go bad. The age-old saying in Spain that prices never go down or not for long is now broken.

...continue reading "<!--:en-->A Country Immersed in Nationwide Protests and Luxury Property Projects<!--:-->"

Published on Leave a comment on Il cielo iGuzzini. Spain Headquarters

iGuzzini Illuminazione Spain SA Headquarters by MiAS Architects

"Structure is where light is".- Kahn. Situated in Barcelona, iGuzzini Illuminazione Headquarters seems unfinished. It reminds me to ancient sacred pantheons, although its definitely modern. It's a sphere which plays with light and structure.

"There is no need for demagogy to explain a building” affirms Josep Miàs (miasarchitects.com), talking about the recently finished new iGuzzini Illuminazione headquarters building in Sant Cugat del Vallès (Barcelona). The exterior architecture of the project should exert some kind of visual strength effect, suggesting being in movement.

Miàs began his project “with something similar to an aerostatic balloon”, which would stay “almost suspended”.

Light, managed with special sensitivity as a fundamental theme, due to iGuzzini’s dedication to illumination design, gets completely integrated in the conception of a big spherical volume whose only spine is a great central void where the whole building is hanging.

dezeen iGuzzini Illuminazione Espana SA Headquarters by MiAS Architects 22 - Il cielo iGuzzini. Spain Headquarters

 

...continue reading "Il cielo iGuzzini. Spain Headquarters"

Published on Leave a comment on Miralles Tagliabue’s new architectural projects

Miralles Tagliabue's works shape several parts of the globe with a Spanish touch

miralles taglibue 300x168 - Miralles Tagliabue's new architectural projectsThe Spanish architectural world is a buoyant enterprise. It might surprise some to hear that Spain has a vibrant culture of contemporary architecture.

Delayed by the Spanish Civil War and the ensuing dictatorship under Franco, the emergence of modernity in Spain may have been late in coming, but today’s young architects are making up for lost time in a spectacular way.

Original personalities like César Manrique Cabrera marked a move toward the modern in the 1960s, while Richard Bofill’s innovative work in the ’70s helped bring Spanish architecture to the world stage. In the 1990s, architects such as Rafael Moneo and Santiago Calatrava began to create the look of contemporary architecture in Spain as we know it.

The book Architecture in Spain guides us through some of the most important architects. Today, we are glad to show the work of Miralles Tagliabue, whose projects, designed from his office in Barcelona, are shaping several parts of the globe with a Spanish touch.

Let us taste some of his talent.

...continue reading "Miralles Tagliabue’s new architectural projects"

Published on Leave a comment on Spanish National Energy Museum in Leon

The Spanish National Energy Museum proclaims sustainability and renewable energy. 

Museo Energia Acebo - Spanish National Energy Museum in Leon

The Spanish National Energy Museum will be built out of the ruins of two old and isolated nuclear plants in Leon.

If you take a look of the images of the current state of these nuclear plants, you can't but think this is the perfect metaphor. Proclaiming sustainable energy on the ruins of nuclear plants. 

...continue reading "Spanish National Energy Museum in Leon"

Published on Leave a comment on Metropol Parasol in Seville

Magnificent Arquitecture. Metropol Parasol by J. Mayer H.

This magnificent Metropol Parasol is well-known in Spain by being the place chosen for the 15-M  in Seville. The 2011 Spanish protests, also referred to as the 15-M Movement and the Indignants movement, are a series of ongoing demonstrations in Spain whose origin can be traced to social networks and Real Democracy NOW (Spanish: Democracia Real YA) among other civilian digital platforms and 200 other small associations.

But we are talking Arquitecture here. Architects J. Mayer. H are the authors of a giant latticed timber canopy as part of their redevelopment of the Plaza de la Encarnación in Seville, Spain.

The Metropol Parasol scheme includes an archaeological museum, a farmers market, an elevated plaza, and bars and restaurants, all contained beneath and within the parasol structure.

dezeen Metropol Parasol by J. Mayer H. 1 - Metropol Parasol in Seville

...continue reading "Metropol Parasol in Seville"

Published on Leave a comment on Interest Rate Swap will make Things Harder for Homebuyers in Spain

 The IRS tax will substitute Euribor next April 2012 in Spain

irs - Interest Rate Swap will make Things Harder for Homebuyers in SpainAs it appears today in The Washington Post, central banks expand system of ‘swapping’ money to ease credit crunch. The Interest Rate Swap (IRS) tax will substitute Euribor next April 2012 in Spain.

The Washington Post explains it this way: "The swap lines are a global form of the central bankers’ “lender of last resort” role, backing the world banking system.

The way it works is the Fed lends dollars to, say, the ECB, in exchange for euros of comparable value. The ECB pays interest, and lends out the dollars to banks in the euro currency area that have obligations in dollars but are temporarily unable to borrow dollars to meet them.

The swap lines themselves are not new — they were first introduced in December 2007 in response to deepening difficulties of banks funding themselves. They were used in vast amounts during the financial crisis in the fall of 2008 and were reintroduced in May 2010 when Europe’s financial troubles worsened".

Substituting Euribor with the Interest Rate Swap tax, though, will make Spanish banks interest grow up to one point. Consequently, homebuyers will end up paying higher interests in their mortgages.

Not so sure this will make things easier for mere citizens. 

Published on Leave a comment on Boosting Spanish Real Estate

Several real estate experts in Spain have made suggestions about how the new government can boost the country's property sector.

taxes - Boosting Spanish Real EstateChanges to taxation is supposed to be the way forward to boost Spanish Property Market.

The previous government cut the value-added tax payable on new-build houses in the nation by 50 per cent in a bid to boost the real estate market.

Buyers can take advantage of the reduction until December 31st 2011, when the tax will revert back to its previous level of eight per cent. The VAT reduction means a saving of up to 8,000 Euros (US$ 11,500) on a 200,000 Euro (US$ 288,420) property.

Published on Leave a comment on Spain Set to Clear Property Debt

Spanish banks face deeper losses on 176 billion euros of real-estate assets

de guindos - Spain Set to Clear Property Debt"Spanish banks face deeper losses on 176 billion euros of real-estate assets. "You have to remove any kind of shadow of doubt over the valuation that you have of these assets in your balance sheet,” Luis de Guindos, tipped by newspapers as a contender for finance minister in a new People’s Party government formed by Rajoy, said in an interview.

De Guindos said he favored stricter rules on how banks account for depreciated land values.
...continue reading "Spain Set to Clear Property Debt"