AZCA, an acronym for ''Asociación Mixta de Compensación de la Manzana A de la Zona Comercial de la Avenida del Generalísimo'' ("Mixed Association for Compensation of the A Block of the Commercial Area of the Avenue of the Generalisimo", now called the Avenue of

Paseo de la Castellana Paseo de la Castellana, commonly known as La Castellana, is a major thoroughfare in Madrid, Spain. Cutting across the city from South to North, it has been described as the "true structuring axis" of the city. History and description The street ...

), is a financial district in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, Spain. The business district, which is located on the northern edge of the city centre, serves as one of the two main financial districts of the Madrid metropolitan area. AZCA

History

It is located between the streets Raimundo Fernández Villaverde, Orense, General Perón and Paseo de la Castellana. Its original conception (and its name) dates back to the ''Plan General de Ordenación Urbana de Madrid'' ( PGOU), approved in 1946. The purpose of this plan was to create a huge block of modern office buildings with metro and railway connections in the expansion area of northern Madrid, just in front of Real Madrid stadium (currently named the

Santiago Bernabéu Stadium The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium ( es, Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, ) is a football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a current seating capacity of 81,044, it has been the home stadium of Real Madrid since its completion in 1947. It is the second-larg ...

) and beside the new government complex of Nuevos Ministerios. A botanical garden, a library and an opera house were also included in the plans, but these were never built. The construction began in the 1970s after many delays. Nowadays some of the tallest and most beautiful modern Madrid skyscrapers are placed here. The most important are: * Torre Picasso (157 m) * Torre Europa (121 m) *

Banco de Bilbao Tower The Castellana 81 (previously known as Torre BBVA, or, in English, BBVA Tower) is a 107m skyscraper in Madrid, Spain, within the AZCA financial district, and is currently the company's Madrid HQ. It was designed by the Spanish architect Fran ...

(107 m) *

Torre Titania Torre Titania is the twelfth-tallest skyscraper in Madrid, Spain and has become the country's largest mall. Construction began in mid-2007, after the burning of the Windsor Tower, which formerly occupied the site. The interior, which houses st ...

(104 m) *

Torre Mahou Edificio Alfredo Mahou (''Alfredo Mahou Building''), also known as Torre Mahou (''Mahou Tower'') is a skyscraper in the AZCA Complex, Madrid, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de Españ ...

(100 m) In February 2005, Windsor Tower (106 m) was destroyed by a fire, and it was later replaced by Torre Titania. During the weekend nights, the underground levels attract a Latino audience to the discos but they also have a reputation for gang violence.
Que la violencia no vuelva a Azca
', '' El Mundo'', 7 February 2006. In 2007, a new skyscraper area was built farther north along

. The carless surfaces inside the block have attracted young supporters of

urban culture Urban culture is the culture of towns and cities. The defining theme is the presence of a great number of very different people in a very limited space - most of them are strangers to each other but still try to be polite to each other more times ...

. Since the 1980s, break dancers, rappers,

skateboard A skateboard is a type of sports equipment used for skateboarding. They are usually made of a specially designed 7-8 ply maple plywood deck and polyurethane wheels attached to the underside by a pair of skateboarding trucks. The skateboarder ...

ers,

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

writers and

parkour Parkour () is an athletic training discipline or sport in which practitioners (called ''traceurs'') attempt to get from point A to point B in the fastest and most efficient way possible, without assisting equipment and often while performing ...

traceurs from other Madrid neighborhoods have been gathering there.

References

External links

Photos of AZCA

Satellite AZCA view from Google Earth
*

'. A description. {{DEFAULTSORT:Azca Buildings and structures in Tetuán District, Madrid AZCA, Madrid Skyscraper office buildings in Madrid Cuatro Caminos neighborhood, Madrid

History

See also

References

External links