In 2024, the old Clesa factory in the Fuencarral district (Madrid) will have been transformed into a center dedicated to science with an investment of 30 million.
In a state of abandonment since 2011, the iconic dairy plant will have a second life thanks to a public-private alliance between the Madrid City Council and Kadans Science Partner. The municipal entity is the owner of the property and the Dutch company will invest close to 30 million euros in its transformation, following the Val-Verde project, winner of the Reinventing Cities 2021 contest, promoted by the C40 network of cities, which rewards ideas for sustainably recover degraded environments.
Val-Verde proposes a new space for the exchange and generation of knowledge, with more than 10,500 m2 for research in medicine and biotechnology; a congress center for more than 500 people; a business incubator and a multipurpose coworking space, designed to attract scientific talent; as well as a cultural center of more than 1,000 m2.
With the aim of being a benchmark for sustainable urban development, its facilities will incorporate innovative solutions in the use of energy and water, the reduction of the carbon footprint, waste management or the impact on the urban environment. In addition, it should be noted that this will be a center that will be self-financing because it will not depend on public funds.
ValVerde-Clesa-interior project
The promoters of the project
The action will be carried out on 38,000 square meters, led by Kadans Science Partner, an expert in the start-up and management of places similar to this one, such as the Sycamore House medical center in Walsall, in Birmingham (United Kingdom), or Accelerator, a community for life sciences in the Science Park in Utrecht (The Netherlands), and which will manage this space during its period of exploitation.
And to carry it out, it will have the teams of external specialists who have participated in the preparation of the Val-Verde proposal: Rubio Arquitectura (Carlos Rubio Carvajal), ERM Iberia, Aecom, Gleeds, La Fábrica, Ale Estudio and the Garrigues office. In addition, Metrovacesa will be contracted to manage the construction process.
Located at number 67 Cardenal Herrera Oria street and designed in the 1960s by the architect Alejandro de la Sota, the building that housed the Clesa factory is an example of 20th-century industrial architecture. The works for its rehabilitation and transformation will begin in 2023 and will be completed in 2024.
"The latest trends in cities point to an evolution of the already classic concept of smart cities to replace it with healthy cities", explained Mariano Fuentes, Urban Development delegate of the Madrid City Council , who considers that the implementation of this project, which he qualifies as "the best example of public-private collaboration", "is going to position Madrid as the new international benchmark as a healthy city, attracting research talent in the sciences of lifetime".