Employees of BBVA have moved into two of the six long bays – corresponding to phase one of the operation – that form the Spanish multinational’s new headquarters. Under construction since 2010, the building rises north of the main axis of Madrid growth, on land occupied before by uncompleted blocks whose structures have been cleverly integrated into the complex. The two finished bays set the building’s final atmosphere: an intimate space with gardens and low constructions conceived as a horizontal city, abstracted from the exterior by a skin of brise-soleils, and whose only vertical counterpoint will be the large ‘sail’ of reinforced concrete and glass scheduled to be ready in 2014.