MARIANO applies bright colors to restore an existing office building in madrid

spanish design studio, MARIANO, has undertaken the careful restoration of the existing ‘LH135’ building in madrid. as opposed to completely transforming the spaces, the concept behind the new intervention seeks instead to embrace the valuable elements of the original industrial design, while also creating a series of contemporary office environments. 

all images © imagensubliminal

originally designed by an engineer, the existing industrial building is characterized by the concrete structure of regular columns and beams. MARIANO decided to restore these structural elements and leave them exposed by removing the floating ceilings which had been added later, forging a relationship between the old and new architecture. the design also highlights other original features, such as the terrazzo floor tiles, the granite lobby and the imposing limestone façade.

after deciding upon which of the original elements to restore, the design team then chose to liven up the office spaces by applying ‘the joy of color.’ inspired by the basement of the building, which had recently been painted in bright canary yellow, the designers decided to extend this use of color through all the floor levels. continuing from the basement car parking space, yellow invades all the common and circulation areas, with only the existing terazzo floor standing out from the bold hue. the same color accompanies users from the front door of the building, to the elevators, lobby and stairs, until they reach one of the different offices.

upon reaching the different floor, the offices are distinguished by the use of different shades. pink, orange and white have been applied respectively, creating a separate world and identity within each level. with the solid blocks of colors on the ceiling, the light fittings and surrounding white walls stand out. in addition, the rough, gray texture of the exposed concrete columns and the pattern of the existing terrazzo flooring is further highlighted. overall, the design by MARIANO takes the best parts of the existing building and combines them with bright applications of color, resulting in fun, contemporary office spaces.

project info:

project name: ‘LH135’

project location: madrid, spain

design: MARIANO

area: 32,292 ft2 (3000 m2)

completion year: 2018

photography and video: imagensubliminal (miguel de guzmán + rocío romero)

video edited by: MARIANO

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom