ABSTRACT
An iconic historic building nestled in the very heart of Madrid, in the Cibeles square, was seriously compromised by the strict requirements of fire safety regulations.
The building, a 250,000 m2 and seven floors high, is being renewed to house the Spanish capital town hall. A nineteenth century cast-iron riveted structure, sometimes massive, sometimes in delicate trusses, was in the way to disappear under a thick sturdy layer of intumescing protection. The requirement was generally ninety minutes resistance to ISO fire, being one hundred and twenty minutes in some zones of the building located under the ground line.
