Led by Silvia Babsky Nadel and Ramón Valls Navascués, Madrid-based BN Asociados Arquitectos won the competition to build the Central Library and Municipal Archive of Leganés, a city within the Madrid metropolitan area. Construction was at an advanced stage when it was halted owing to the contractor’s going bankrupt, and the site was abandoned for seven years. Building work resumed in 2018. With a built area of 12,000 square meters, the cultural complex unfolds on two adjacent plots in two independent volumes sharing a large basement. The sinuous facade of the library was achieved through a ventilated solution and large ceramic pieces imitating the spines of books. The different colors were carefully chosen. 9,126 pieces were placed on a subframe of profiles which was attached to panels of prefabricated concrete 14 cm thick. Glass wool with waterproofing insulation 60 mm thick was applied between the profiles and the structural panels. Inside, a 60 mm Pladurmetal lining allows service elements to be moved through. The counterpoint to the library is generated by the archive, the neutral facade of which, also ventilated, is coated with anthra-zinc panels.