Madrid, SPAIN

Espacio Fundación Telefónica

Comfortable, original seat transformable into a bench in order to allow higher occupation of the room

Architects

Quanto Arquitectura y Moneo Brock Studio

Description

Located on Madrid’s famous Gran Vía and considered one of the architectural jewels of the early 20th century, the historic headquarters of the Telefónica Group was completely refurbished by Quanto Arquitectura studio, in collaboration with Moneo Brock, respecting the industrial style of the original building.

For the auditorium, with a capacity for 175 people, a comfortable and beautiful made to measure seat was designed with beech wood, which when folded becomes a bench, thus increasing the capacity of the room for more informal use.

Technical Data

Project Name:	Espacio Fundación Telefónica
Year of Development:	2012
Country:	Spain
Location:	Madrid
Installed Seats:	Bespoke Model
Capacity:	175
Segments:	Made to Measure
Venues:	Auditoriums & Conference, Corporate
Architecture Studio:	Quanto Arquitectura & Moneo Brock

Installed Seats

Installed Systems

Case Study

A painstaking restoration of Madrid’s first skyscraper

The Telefónica Foundation has moved into an iconic building on Madrid’s Gran Vía that was Europe’s tallest skyscraper when it was constructed. The building has been painstakingly restored by the architectural practice Quanto Arquitectura.

Challenges and solutions

The main Great Hall of Fundación Telefónica needed a special seat. The special model needed to serve as both a continuous bench for informal use and a comfortable individual seat for conferences. This is a unique seat developed especially for the space by Figueras team, who worked hand-in-hand with the architects responsible for the project.

Product supplied

The result is a sleek bench in solid beech that can be converted into individual seats by sliding off the top cover, which becomes a padded backrest, and activating a mechanism to raise the armrests. The seat includes a power point for connecting computers and other equipment during conference sessions. The seating system performs two functions according to the position of the folding backrest. With the backrest open, it provides comfortable, ergonomic seats that are perfect for a conference room. With the backrest in the closed position, the model serves as a continuous bench for alternative uses.