Clesa Factory refurbish

• Location: Madrid, Spain.
• Sector: Retail, Mixed-Use
• Client: Metrovacesa
• Size: GLA: 12,000 m2
• Status: Competition
• Year: 2015

This competition was about a milk factory renovation in Madrid (Spain) for CLESA company.
It is a factory with history since it was designed by the important Spanish architect, Alejandro de
la Sota (1913-1996).
The new management area covers 10,000 m2 of retail space, a reserve of green areas of 6,000 m2
and 12,000 m2 of public roads.
The idea was to populate the public areas with a “smart canopy”, an intelligent roof that covered
the open public areas, creating shady zones that protected people and turn made the spaces more
intimate.
It got the name “smart” because it was a canopy that not only performed the function of blocking
the sun.
The canopy had photo-voltaic cells at the top that absorbed solar energy. This energy is stored
in batteries that form the bases of the pillars supporting the parasol. In these pillars, there are a
number of plugs that can be used by citizens to recharge their electrical devices, electric bicycles,
electric cars, cell phones, computers, and other electrical appliances.
In this way, the smart canopy became a passive element (shade) as well as an active element
(energy).