The CaixaForum Madrid is a new cultural center in the historical center of Madrid, near the renowned Prado, Reina Sofia and Thyssen-Bornemisza museums, designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, the 2001 Pritzker Architecture Prize winners. The CaixaForum is a restoration and expansion of one of the few examples of industrial architecture in Madrid’s historical center, the old power plant Central Eléctrica del Mediodía. Herzog & de Meuron used four basic principles to redesign of the building: to restore the brick outer layer using traditional techniques, to get rid of the stone base around the power plant, to open up a new public square with an entrance on Paseo del Prado and to add volume. The seven-floor, brick and cast iron building will hold art exhibitions, film screenings, concerts and conferences. The Caixa Forum was inaugurated on February 13, 2008. The inaugural exhibition presents almost 40 pieces from the Caixa Foundation’s (Obra Social Fundación “la Caixa”) permanent collection, including works from artists such as Cindy Sherman, Anselm Kiefer, Sigmar Polke, Carlos Amorales, Roni Horn and Ferrán García Sevilla. We visited the CaixaForum shortly after its inauguration on February 13, 2008. CaixaForum Madrid, Spain, February 16, 2008.
PS: Recommended Links: Caixa Forum Madrid at The Art Newspaper, Landscape and Urbanism, Patrick Blanc, Flickr.
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