LA
PIRÁMIDE

The entry to the garage was located on the Paseo de la Castellana with an exit to Jenner Street through a one-way ascending ramp which also served as an interior street. On the ground floor, the lobby, with deep recesses, was accessed through a spectacular garden, taking full advantage of the then existing large trees, to which earth mounds were added to diversify the perspectives and to guide the pedestrians.

The form of a truncated pyramid was a consequence of the municipal regulations respecting the permitted built area and the maintenance of the garden, and whose strict application resulted in a building with four attics and sloping walls, a shape considered inadequate from an urban point of view. The truncated pyramidal solution was then proposed, with three sloping façades facing the streets affected by these regulations, and a vertical interior façade, where the circulation core was located. A singular building with a clean and sharp volume was thus achieved, with aboveground floors that varied from 800 to 1,500 sqm in area.

The sloping supports located outside the façade enclosure¾with their bases modified during construction¾give a whole lot of character to the aesthetic composition. The four corners were suspended from prestressed cables which were anchored to the capitals of their corresponding supports.

The organization of the façades in staggered and recessed floors and the inclined windows helped to protect the building from sunlight and lowered its energy consumption. The façades were also protected with prefabricated panels of polyester and reinforced with fiberglass, and the carpentry was of bronze anodized aluminium.