Anyone who knows Madrid well knows that the architectural jewels of the center are a tiny part of the city. For every beautiful building there are more than three that are not so beautiful. Among the less graceful are those that were built in the 2000s, when the economic crisis led to minimalist construction, functional and, generally speaking, as cheap as possible.
In 2009, a tower was erected on Pilar de Madariaga street, in the heart of the Vallecas neighborhood, which, despite winning a NAN Architecture and Construction award in 2010, has the reputation of being one of the ugliest buildings in the capital. And if not, just tell that to our first interviewee in the video of street questions about the worst buildings still standing today in the city.
According to the newspaper Nuevo Sureste, the characteristic zinc sheets of this building, christened Torre Vallecas 20, are being removed 15 years after the building’s inauguration to renovate the façade. During the works, the sheets have been replaced by blocks of other materials in shades of brown and orange, which break with the uniform color of its previous design.
The building had a low-maintenance facade made of zinc (hence why many call it the ‘Black Tower’) to improve the thermal and acoustic insulation of the apartments. It has 132 one- and two-bedroom apartments, 14 of them duplexes. For its height and sustainable facilities, Arquitectura Viva magazine defined the tower as “a landmark on the outskirts of Madrid”.