Nature in Height for a New Madrid
In the heart of Madrid, in an area that for decades breathed the air of industrial activity, Madnum is redefining how we inhabit cities.
As Spain’s first mixed-use complex, it will feature a vertical garden that not only transforms a façade but also rewrites the relationship between nature and architecture.
The project, designed and executed by SingularGreen, brings over 904 m² of living vegetation that will cover the envelope of the Boreal building. It speaks a language of its own: one of sustainability, urban biology, and evolving beauty.
A Vertical Garden Inspired by the Soul of Madrid
The design draws inspiration from a symbol deeply rooted in Madrid’s identity: the strawberry tree (madroño). The changing bark of this tree inspired a plant composition that evolves with the seasons, combining native, low-water-consumption species, and engaging in dialogue with architectural elements such as perforated metal panels reminiscent of the lichens that grow on tree trunks.
This intervention, with its powerful symbolism, suggests an urban metaphor: a living skin—like that of the madroño—clothing the face of the city in vegetation. A skin that breathes, transforms, and reinterprets nature through verticality.
Inspired by the fluorescent hues of lichens, the lighting transforms the façade at night, making its organic heartbeat visible in the city’s shadows. During the day, the garden functions as a bioclimatic system, absorbing CO₂, lowering ambient temperature, and reducing the urban heat island effect. By night, it becomes a living spectacle—a new visual landmark for those arriving in the capital from Atocha Station.
A Green Wall to Be Experienced (and Strolled Past)
This vertical garden is not meant to be admired from afar. Its impact is felt up close—in the daily walk through the plaza, in the surroundings of the retail spaces, in the flow of people who work, live, or gather here. Like all living fabrics, the vegetation interacts with public space, transforming light, temperature, colour… even the perception of place.
As part of a publicly accessible complex, the garden becomes an active element of the urban landscape. It is not a decorative façade, but a natural infrastructure woven into the rhythm of the city—accompanying passersby, those who pause, or simply those who look up to discover that nature, too, can scale walls.
A Living Work in Progress
The vertical garden is currently being installed. It will soon be complete, but its true beauty will unfold over time. Because this is no ordinary façade: it’s a living organism that will change in colour, texture, and form as the year progresses. Its evolution will mark the rhythm of the seasons—blossoming, growing, and dancing with the light.
It will need to be seen in spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Because like all living things, this garden isn’t something to be seen just once—it is to be experienced, walked past, and rediscovered.
Madnum is no longer just a place to work or live.
It’s a place to breathe, to grow, and to reconnect.
