Telefónica Madrid: structural transparency in the vertical icon of spanish modernism

In the heart of Europe’s first skyscraper, Divilux reimagines the workplace as a fluid device of connection and light.

By the late 1920s, amid the modernist ferment sweeping across Europe’s capitals, a building was taking shape in the heart of Madrid—destined to become a symbol of modernity and technological ambition: the Telefónica Building, headquarters of the Spanish National Telephone Company.

Designed by Ignacio de Cárdenas between 1926 and 1929, with direct influences from Lewis S. Weeks’ New York studio, the tower blends metropolitan verticality with Churrigueresque ornamentation, achieving a unique balance between American architectural language and Iberian Baroque roots. At 89 meters tall, it was Madrid’s first skyscraper and among the very first in Europe.

Today, within this architectural context rich in historical layers, a measured and mindful intervention takes shape: Telefónica Madrid, a project by Divilux—one of Spain’s leading contract specialists and a long-standing partner of Etoile.
The design embraces the principle of structural transparency: glass partitions, installed with geometric precision and material discretion, provide visual continuity, acoustic control, and functional lightness in spaces where corporate representation meets the demands of daily operations.

A project that listens to the past and shapes the present.

Within one of the most iconic buildings on Gran Vía, Metrica® d2 partitions—featuring curved glass and minimal profiles—create autonomous, acoustically protected islands dedicated to both work and relaxation. These solutions integrate seamlessly into the original layout, engaging in a dialogue with both material and light. Natural light, transparency, and essential proportions all contribute to a delicate balance between function and identity, between historical constraints and contemporary freedom.

A Dialogue of Memory and Transformation

The intervention does not seek contrast, but rather harmony between permanence and innovation. The partitions designed by Divilux operate through absorption rather than obstruction. The spaces unfold in visually open yet functionally defined sequences: meeting rooms, operational areas, and zones for circulation and pause.

Here, glass is more than mere transparency: it is an active material that reflects, filters, and connects. The aluminum structures, stripped down to their essentials, establish the spatial rhythm without adding weight, allowing natural light to highlight the geometries and narrate the continuity between past and present.

A design approach that embraces the essence of the site

The Telefónica Madrid project demonstrates Divilux’s ability to interpret partition elements as flexible and intelligent design tools, capable of fitting sensitively even within the most restrictive and memory-rich contexts. It is a project that shows how, even in a symbolic and layered architecture, intervention can be carried out with rigor, sensitivity, and lightness.

Here, the partition is not a mere technical device, but an active threshold: it separates without isolating, structures without stiffening, accompanies without imposing itself aesthetically. A discreet yet decisive presence, capable of redefining how space is inhabited, traversed, and represented.