Castellana and Avenida de América: Madrid’s Concrete and Skyline

Stretching northward through the city, the Paseo de la Castellana and Avenida de América form Madrid’s most dynamic urban corridor — where history, innovation and architecture meet.

It begins with the city’s institutional landmarks: the Bank of Spain, the Spanish Parliament, and the Palacio de Cibeles, designed by Antonio Palacios and Joaquín Otamendi in 1919. Originally the Post and Telegraph building, its neo-plateresque façade and ornate tower have made it one of Madrid’s most emblematic monuments — now home to the City Hall and a symbol of civic pride.

Further north, the 20th century brought a new architectural language. On Avenida de América, architect Francisco Javier Sáenz de Oíza created one of Spain’s most daring residential towers: Torres Blancas. Built between 1964 and 1969, this brutalist icon combines sculptural form and functionality, with rounded balconies and an organic concrete structure that seems to grow like a living organism.

Nearby stands the Spanish Cultural Heritage Institute (IPCE), designed in 1967 by Fernando Higueras and Antonio Miró Valverde. Its circular layout and jagged roof earned it the nickname “the Crown of Thorns,” a masterpiece of Spanish experimental architecture.

Finally, the skyline opens into the Cuatro Torres Business Area, four skyscrapers of glass and steel that mark Madrid’s 21st-century identity — sleek, cosmopolitan, and forward-looking.

The Castellana–Avenida de América corridor represents the spirit of a city that has never stopped evolving: a Madrid of height, light, and bold design.

At BARNES Madrid, experts in luxury properties in Castellana and Avenida de América, we know that living here means embracing contemporary Madrid — a landscape of architecture, innovation, and elegance.