This project involved the complete refurbishment of a historical building – the former Hotel París – right in the “heart” of Madrid. One of the most challenging aspects in the project was the structural intervention, which involved keeping most of the existing slabs and all the facade in place while the columns and main beams on the ground and first floors, where the store is located, were replaced by new cast iron columns and steel beams that doubled the span between columns to over 6 metres.
Additionally, the underground structure required a great deal of rehabilitation work to adapt it to the new requirements of the building. This included a brand new foundation system consisting of micropiles drilled through the original basement walls into the soil below the building, and the reconstruction of most of the original masonry vaults in the basement, which were heavily damaged due to the lack of maintenance during the building’s life.
We also found archaeological remains below the basement slab which needed additional works from our side to meet the requirements of the local heritage authorities. It was also very challenging timewise, since the schedule of works in the basement suffered massive delays due to the archaeological works that were directly monitored by the city hall, meaning that we could not speed them up.
Puerta del Sol was also a very challenging project from the point of view of logistics, since the location of the building, in the very centre of Madrid, imposed a series of constraints that made the construction process even more difficult. These constraints included limited time slots for the access of vehicles, strict noise regulations and all the difficulties derived from the fact of being right on the spot where many demonstrations and official ceremonies in Madrid take place, thus meaning road and pedestrian access closures.
The construction of this project was completed over a period of 14 months, and it required a huge effort from our team to overcome all the challenges faced during that period.
