CaixaForum Madrid

CaixaForum Madrid is a 21st-century sociocultural center inaugurated in 2008 that opens its doors to ancient, modern, and contemporary art, music and poetry festivals, multimedia art, current affairs debates, social events, and family and educational workshops.

Its spectacular headquarters, located on the Paseo del Prado (next to the three major museums of the Paseo del Arte: the Prado, the Thyssen, and the Reina Sofía), is one of the city's icons. The renovation of the building that housed the old Mediodía power station was carried out in 2002 by the architectural firm Herzog & Co. designed by de Meuron, it has two easily recognizable features: its vertical garden, a 460 m2 oasis created by French landscape architect Patrick Blanc, and its apparent state of "levitation". CaixaForum has over 2,000 square meters dedicated to exhibition halls, a 322-seat auditorium, and several multipurpose conference rooms. A café, a bookstore, and a restaurant complete the center's offerings.