ABSTRACT
The paper analyzes the development of the refurbishment project of the former Belgian Sawmill, one of the first reinforced concrete buildings in Madrid. The paper also shows the several studies and actions carried out in the original structure, as well as the new structures developed for the new architectural interventions. Thus, the main structural intervention proposed was the elimination of an intermediate building between the two main ones – a later addition – and its replacement by a new communications hub with a contemporary character, which is conceptually conceived as a hanging “puppet”. This whole area of the building, called “The Thing” has materialized by a steel tensioned structure with a rather complex geometry as a contraposition to the existing reinforced concrete structure, highlighting the role that the structure can play in such interventions.
