Banco de Bilbao Building

Brief information

The Banco de Bilbao building grew out of an awkward, irregularly shaped plot in the very center of Madrid. The architect Ricardo de Bastida did not hide this complexity: he assembled the office from two wings, linked them with galleries, and placed a monumental rotunda in the middle. The building should therefore be read not as a neat rectangular block, but as an attempt to create a prestigious bank on a difficult urban corner.

Later history also left its imprint on the form. The bank expanded the office after purchasing neighboring plots, and the 1970s extension disrupted the original symmetry of the facade. In this way, business necessity changed the ceremonial design. The status of an Asset of Cultural Interest, granted in 1999, confirmed the building’s value not only as a former banking office, but also as a notable architectural testimony to the growth of financial Madrid.

What to notice first

On the facade, you can compare the solemn banking shell with traces of a troubled history. The two towers carry giant quadrigas: each sculptural group is cast from an alloy of bronze, lead, and iron and weighs 12.5 tons. Their black color was not the original decorative choice. During the Civil War, the gilded figures were repainted so they would not serve as landmarks for bombing raids, and that coloring was later preserved.

It is also worth noticing the marble atlantes on the facade: they strengthen the image of the building as a heavy, prestigious financial structure. The inner center is arranged differently: the rotunda leads to the “hall of honor,” with a stained-glass dome, twelve pairs of alabaster Doric columns, and a bronze-and-glass chandelier. Above the columns is a cycle of frescoes, “Effort.” The exterior facade speaks of the institution’s power, while the hall gathers this idea in material, light, and images of labor.