The results of the competition for the chance to refurbish the main shed of the old Clesa dairy factory, built in the year 1961 by the master Alejandro de la Sota in Madrid’s Fuencarral-El Pardo district, were announced on 27 November 2015. Promoted by the large Spanish property company Metrovacesa and the Madrid Institute of Architects (COAM) in collaboration with the Alejandro de la Sota Foundation, the summons for ideas was directed at architects and teams based anywhere in the world, with the requirement of preserving the character of the iconic building and gaining back its almost 38,000 square meters for new uses.

After a scrutiny of as many as eighty entries, the jury presided by Metrovacesa chief executive officer Carlos García León and including Pilar Pereda, José María Ezquiaga, Josep Llinàs, Juan Núñez Berruguete, Luis Fernández-Galiano, Carlos Rubio Carvajal, Guillermo Zapata, José Antonio Granero, and José Luis Barrero decided that the first prize should be shared equally by three projects: ‘La Fábrica Cultural’ by Pedro Pitarch Alonso, ‘Mil Reflejos’ by Patricia Fernández García in conjunction with Rubén Conde Gómez, and ‘Factory Garden’ by Adrián Martínez Muñoz and Pablo Izaga González. A special mention went to ‘Dar Liebre por Gato,’ submitted by Alfredo Baladrón Carrizo of the group Vírgula i.

The jury has also deemed it fitting to highlight the commendable quality of many of the other designs turned in, and on the suggestion of the representatives of the firm Metrovacesa, the money award of the prize has been increased. Furthermore, it was decided that the special mention should be remunerated as well, in the amount of 2,000 euros.