The Diplomat
Madrid City Council has given the green light to the licence that will allow the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism to undertake the refurbishment of the Palacio de Congresos y Exposiciones de la Castellana, which will be the new headquarters of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
The licence had been requested by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, through Turespaña, on 22 September 2022, following the approval of the Institutional Commission for the Protection of Historical, Artistic and Natural Heritage. However, it was not until last Friday that the licence was granted, a period of time that the Socialist opposition, now led by the former Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, has considered excessive.
According to Álvaro González, delegate for Housing Policies and president of the Municipal Housing and Land Company (EMVS), in these nine months a ‘readjusted’ project was requested to comply with the requirements of the Commission for the Protection of Heritage and, throughout this time, intense work has been carried out by the technicians and it has been necessary to obtain various reports from different departments.
González explained that the file “has required several requests to the interested party”, the Ministry, for the declaration as BIC (Bien de Interés Cultural) of Miró’s mural. “It has been very complex,” he stressed. He added that the City Council is “in coordination” with the Ministry to carry out all these improvements to extend and renovate the space.
The building, built in 1970, was closed at the end of 2012, due to some deficiencies, and since that date it has not had any activity, after having hosted important international events.
Among other things, the refurbishment project, which will affect the three buildings of which the complex is composed, includes dedicating 450,000 euros to the restoration of the mural by Joan Miró, which, since 1980, which has adorned the main façade of the building.
Building B, once it has been renovated and refurbished, will house the headquarters of the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), which is currently located at 42 Poeta Juan Maragall street. Making the Palace available to the UNWTO was a key element in preventing the only United Nations agency with permanent headquarters in Spain from accepting Saudi Arabia’s demands to move its location to that country.
The refurbishment of the Congress and Exhibition Centre on Paseo de la Castellana has been awarded to Ferrovial for a total of 21.4 million euros, according to the State Contracting Platform.
In this way, the construction company has been awarded a project for which 10 other candidatures had been presented, among which it was chosen “for having obtained the highest score”. The execution period has been set at 18 months.
In April, the Council of Ministers authorised the works, which will include “a complete interior reconfiguration of the existing volume to adapt it to the new uses, with interior demolition of partitions and installations”. In addition, “an additional third floor will be built with new structural elements to support the existing ones”.
“A contemporary architectural language will be sought, clearly but discreetly differentiated from the mural designed by Joan Miró. The roof will have skylights to facilitate natural lighting,” the government stresses.