Centro de Estudios Hidrográficos del CEDEX

Inaugurated in 1963 and designed by the Spanish architect Miguel Fisac (Daimiel 29-9-1913, Madrid 12-5-2006), the laboratories space is characterized by its bone-shape beams. This singular element spans 22 meters while providing gentle light and creating a simply impressive space. It is a very famous building of 60s Spanish architecture and it receives visits by groups of professionals and students from all over the world. 

The architectural concept of this building located at Madrid Río features simple form and expressive structure where all of the used materials (iron, concrete, steel) show their own quality, texture and color. Fisac’s ​​design poses a division of the building into two volumes that are connected only by a hall located on the first floor.

The storehouse is probably the most remarkable part of the complex, a large open room, 80 x 22 meters, covered with beams that were originally formed by pieces of concrete joined together. The careful design of these 'vertebra-beams', named so by Fisac ​​for its resemblance of the bony structures of the animals, that span the 22 meters of the building, and allow for have indirect natural light needed for conducting tests. Miguel Fisac also took care of the design of the furniture of the offices and the conference rooms, complete with other pieces of avant-garde artists such as Mies van der Rohe, Harry Bertoia and Juan Ignacio Cardenas. The moldings of the ceiling and its lights, the wood paneling on the walls or the marble floor of the lobby, made up of parts of different sizes that have their own plan for proper placement are also details made by Fisac.

The building of the Centre of Hydrographic Studies of CEDEX (Centro de Estudios Hidrográficos del CEDEX) can be visited during the open days organized by different entities (Town Hall, Association of Civil Engineers, Official Association of Architects, Open House Madrid...) throughout the year and announced in the media. Independently of these conferences, there is the possibility of visiting the building on Thursdays at 12:00 (in groups of about 20 people), requesting the visit with sufficient notice.