Madrid's Titania Tower with ArcelorMittal steel structure

This glazed tower on the skyline of the Spanish capital shimmers in greenish shades. A shopping centre with an office tower made almost entirely of steel, the Titania Tower was built on the subterranean structure of the Windsor Tower which was destroyed in a fire in 2005. ArcelorMittal provided hot rolled steel sections in different grades and composite flooring.

Detailed information

The Titania Tower was built on the exact location of the Windsor Tower which was destroyed in a fire in 2005 and subsequently dismantled. Only its underground floors remained intact and were therefore maintained. It is situated in the centre of Madrid’s business district, close to the famous avenue Paseo de la Castellana.

Commissioned by El Corte Inglés and designed by the architects Pablo Muñoz and Pedro Vilata, the construction of the new building was started in 2007.

The commercial part of the complex was inaugurated at the end of 2011 and has now become the flagship store of the famous Spanish department store group in Madrid. The aim was to create an attractive building transmitting movement with the use of glass and perforated steel sheets for the facade.

With a height of 103.7 m and a total of 27 floors (including the five existing underground floors used for parking), it is almost as high as its predecessor, the Windsor Tower.

The first seven floors (ground floor – 6) are used by El Corte Ingles as a shopping centre and offer a total of 21 133 m2 of commercial space. On the roof of this volume, two technical floors were installed containing different machinery, air treatment installations, ventilators, pumps, etc. They provide service to the shopping centre and the offices. Two more technical floors were introduced on the top of the building on floors 20 and 21.

The office tower rises from the rectangular basement and is completely glazed in greenish shades and offers 14 430 m2.

According to the different function of the building, there are two entrances: a main entrance to the shopping centre and one to the hall of the office building.

ArcelorMittal steel structure & flooring system

The Titania Tower rises out of five existing subterranean floors - the 'leftovers of the dismantled Windsor Tower. Its structure consists, almost entirely, of steel profiles realised and assembled by Callfer SA. Only the central core, which acts as a stabiliser and contains the lifts and the stairwell is concrete - its two smaller cores contain auxiliary and service lifts.

Steel columns, beams, and flooring deck were entirely supplied by ArcelorMittal.

Almost all of the columns consist of HD hot rolled profiles, of which a total of 1000 tonnes of high strength grade S 460-M were used. A small number of them are composite columns based on HEB sections (in S 355-JR). The transition and connection between the existing concrete structure and the new steel structure was realised with steel plates (10 or 6 mm thick in S 460-M) and tie bars made of reinforcement steel bars with a 40 mm diameter and a bolting system.

The entire beam structure on all floors is made of HEB profiles of various dimensions, except for some special beams made of HEM. On the 7th floor, where the shopping centre ends and the offices begin, trusses of about 2.5 m high create a cantilever at a height of 28 m, thus creating a seven floor entrance hall. These trusses consist of HEB sections in their top and bottom chords as well as upright and diagonal structure. A total of 5000 tonnes of beams were used for the horizontal structure on which the composite flooring was installed.

For the flooring system, more than 30 000 m2 of Cofraplus® composite flooring decks (of 1 mm thickness) were employed on which concrete was poured, resulting in a slab thickness of 200 mm.

Intelligent & sustainable

The Titania Tower was designed to be exemplary as far as sustainability is concerned. It incorporates the latest technologies that guarantee major energy efficiency, thus respecting its environment. Due to its orientation, the glazed cylinder has been equipped with a curved modular system of solar control that, at the same time, incorporates photovoltaic cells for the production of clean energy.

Automatic light systems based on movement, free-cooling systems for the air conditioning, the use of energy-saving light bulbs, and systems for the efficient use of water contribute to the reduction of more than 60% of the building's energy consumption.

Project information

  • Madrid
  • Spain
  • Architects:
    Pablo Muñoz & Pedro Vilata
  • 2007 - 2012
  • Client:
    El Corte Inglés
  • Engineering firm:
    Amodo OTEP
  • Contractor:
    Steel construction: Callfer SA
  • Photographers:
    Constructalia & Callfer SA