After opening shops in England, Germany and Belgium, the prestigious American home furnishings company RH (Restoration Hardware) chose Spain, and Madrid specifically, to continue its expansion. Furthermore, to maintain its own high standards and meet the expectations of future customers, it decided to take over a heritage building, the mansion located at number 5, Plaza del Marqués de Salamanca. Its author, the architect Joaquín Saldaña (1870–1939), built it in 1914 employing the elegant, refined language—blending Neo-Baroque and Neo-Rococo features—that defined all the homes he designed for the aristocracy and the upper middle class. A garden, also with heritage status, adjoins the building.
The refurbishment of the building, which had previously accommodated commercial premises, respected all the original features with the clear intention of creating a privileged setting for the luxury furnishings, antiques and artefacts from around the globe that form the basis of the RH retail offering.
The scope of the works was divided into two parallel phases. One concerned the building and consisted in adapting the existing space to create show rooms on three floors and convert the basement into a back-room area. The other phase consisted in renovating the garden surrounding the mansion, with access from Calle Ortega y Gasset.
Inside the building, the palette of materials used comprises different types and formats of marble, and oak wood for details, window frames, doors and floors. Portuguese Rose, Carrara and Dark Emperador marbles were incorporated into the project, complementing the existing marbles on the grand staircase (with an iron balustrade) and the secondary staircase, both restored in situ. Oak was used to unify the appearance of the spaces in the show rooms.
The intervention in the garden focused inspecting, restoring and activating the two fountains in the rear area; laying the paths and installing the paving (pieces of ivory marble in different formats); and replanting the existing laurel trees and flower beds, adapting the original design to the new lighting needs and exhibition of the exterior furnishing collections.