Needs Program

• - Ground floor: Hall, business, secretariat.

• - First floor: Presidency, Board Room, Library.

• - Second floor: Assembly hall, Archive - Warehouse.

Facade

The façade is simple and orderly, it is a façade that contrasts with the complexity developed inside the building, the symmetrical openings, outlined by stone lintels that interrupt the continuity of the ceramics, on the façade you can see the result of the architectural program carried out inside.

Ground floor

On the ground floor, we access the main lobby, an open space, where an expressive language has been used, lines and perspectives create a sensation of fluidity and dynamism, the reference point is the counter that emerges from the ground with a single point of support, which points us to the staircase. It is a space of great complexity, the dark ceiling with recessed spotlights appears to us like a starry sky, the interior space is multiplied supported by the resource of the mirror located at the back of the room, the artificial stone floor gives the primitive road, etc. Here the main functions of the building are collected, where no detail is neglected, whether in the design of the furniture or the flooring, the semicircular staircase is the element that articulates the space and generates new space that is used for secondary functions of the building.

First floor

When we access this floor we see how the radial design of the floor projects the staircase, this effect focuses the space towards the different rooms that are articulated, such as the library, meeting room, and office of the presidency. In the library, now gone, there were continuous shelves, and some reading stations were also planned, with broken shapes, arranged in a zigzag shape and oriented towards the entrance of light, this design was the consequence of having correctly studied the entrance of the light, were solutions aimed at taking advantage of space and light.[6]​

In the meeting room there is a large elongated table with twelve seats, which is still preserved today. In this space we find a pyrography of Miguel del Moral, with an iconography of San Rafael, Tobías and the fish. The floor of the library and the meeting room was a continuous greenish terrazzo, which gave unity to both spaces, carried out by Nigarol.[7]​.

In the presidency, two rooms are distinguished, differentiated by height and the texture of the floor, the first room is an ante-office, designed for the meeting, it is a concave space, where the walls have a treatment with wooden splints, of Nordic influence, which allows for effective acoustics, in addition to including a fireplace, the furniture continues to have the particular signature of Rafael de La-Hoz, it benefits from the second height to create a sofa upholstered with a zebra motif, and furniture is arranged around this fireplace. On the second height, the black marble floor, in longitudinal bands, is the work area that rises, symbolizing its priority. The light in this space is introduced through a window that overlooks the patio, in which Venetian curtains have been arranged to regulate the light, and under the window two subtle and airy shelves run its length. The floor has two textures perceptually indicating the use of the spaces, while in the meeting hall it is a more organic texture, in the second height the straight lines projected in black and white speak to us of sobriety and rectitude. The doors were swing doors from Aranda's workshop, made of stripped wood. All the furniture designed has a careful texture and finishes, there are gaps that allow you to see through them, thus allowing you to play with the space. In short, we once again verify that the division of spaces is exercised with the use of effects, textures and finishes, rather than with physical divisions, everything that is unnecessary is suppressed.

Second floor

The staircase leads to the second floor, in front of the assembly hall, and a lobby, where we find a sculpture by Jorge Oteiza. This small space is illuminated by a large window that overlooks the patio. The assembly hall is a space with a single nave, with an elliptical head. It is a space where the walls have been covered with wooden slats, for acoustic treatment,[8]​ a sloping space, covered by a vault that surrounds the space. It is covered with a plaster vault, made by Rafael del Rosal, covered with gold leaf, but this vault is not only an aesthetic setting, but is designed this way because it obeys a distribution of sound so that the speaker's voice can be heard from all points of the room with the same intensity.[9]​ The furniture in this room repeats the design of previous chairs and upholstery, the wooden floor. The work was completed in 1955.

Extension

A renovation and expansion was carried out in the 60s, also carried out by Rafael de La-Hoz Arderius. The two buildings merge on the façade, but this extension does not have the hallmarks of the first intervention in the Chamber; certain spaces were adapted to the new uses, subtracting a certain monumentality and design, also losing original furniture. On the ground floor a door is opened for this new extension that reduces the scenic sense of the hall, the library is dismantled and moved to the new headquarters and in its place a meeting room is created. There are scholars like Antonio Pizza who consider that the first phase of the Chamber is a unicum, distorted by the enlargement, which distorts the unitary character of the initial project.[10]​.

Design

We not only see the careful design in the Chamber of Commerce in the space, but we can also observe an organic contagion that extends to the furniture, which is loaded with Nordic influences and references to the American models of the moment. The entire furniture design was also focused on the use of space, using especially wood, with dynamic and angular shapes, furniture was created for each room, such as cantilevered shelves, tables for business and the library, or pieces such as the chest of drawers made of pine wood for the office, with the sawtooth design that will also be used for other furniture designs. In short, what Rafael de La-Hoz and José María García Paredes wanted was a perfect integration between architecture and furniture.[11]​.

Other artists

This great work also houses works by other contemporary artists such as Jorge Oteiza, whose sculptures gave personality to the building. He made a sculpture for the hall that was half a female form, half a conch shell, which was placed in the stairwell. He also made another sculpture made of oak wood, on a stone base[12]. merchants.[13]​ The fact of having other artists such as Oteiza and del Moral, by Rafael de la Hoz, in some way shows the interest on the part of the architect to incorporate artistic creations in his projects.[14]​.

Description

The plot that the building occupies is located between party walls and has an irregular shape, it is a kind of rectangle that folds on itself, its measurements are 149.50 m of plot and 8.50 m of façade. The building is made up of three floors, in which the program of needs determined for the function of the Chamber of Commerce is developed, everything is adapted to the broken shape of the plot and a larger surface area is given to the areas of greatest use.

Needs Program

• - Ground floor: Hall, business, secretariat.

• - First floor: Presidency, Board Room, Library.

• - Second floor: Assembly hall, Archive - Warehouse.

Facade

The façade is simple and orderly, it is a façade that contrasts with the complexity developed inside the building, the symmetrical openings, outlined by stone lintels that interrupt the continuity of the ceramics, on the façade you can see the result of the architectural program carried out inside.

Ground floor

On the ground floor, we access the main lobby, an open space, where an expressive language has been used, lines and perspectives create a sensation of fluidity and dynamism, the reference point is the counter that emerges from the ground with a single point of support, which points us to the staircase. It is a space of great complexity, the dark ceiling with recessed spotlights appears to us like a starry sky, the interior space is multiplied supported by the resource of the mirror located at the back of the room, the artificial stone floor gives the primitive road, etc. Here the main functions of the building are collected, where no detail is neglected, whether in the design of the furniture or the flooring, the semicircular staircase is the element that articulates the space and generates new space that is used for secondary functions of the building.

First floor

When we access this floor we see how the radial design of the floor projects the staircase, this effect focuses the space towards the different rooms that are articulated, such as the library, meeting room, and office of the presidency. In the library, now gone, there were continuous shelves, and some reading stations were also planned, with broken shapes, arranged in a zigzag shape and oriented towards the entrance of light, this design was the consequence of having correctly studied the entrance of the light, were solutions aimed at taking advantage of space and light.[6]​

In the meeting room there is a large elongated table with twelve seats, which is still preserved today. In this space we find a pyrography of Miguel del Moral, with an iconography of San Rafael, Tobías and the fish. The floor of the library and the meeting room was a continuous greenish terrazzo, which gave unity to both spaces, carried out by Nigarol.[7]​.

In the presidency, two rooms are distinguished, differentiated by height and the texture of the floor, the first room is an ante-office, designed for the meeting, it is a concave space, where the walls have a treatment with wooden splints, of Nordic influence, which allows for effective acoustics, in addition to including a fireplace, the furniture continues to have the particular signature of Rafael de La-Hoz, it benefits from the second height to create a sofa upholstered with a zebra motif, and furniture is arranged around this fireplace. On the second height, the black marble floor, in longitudinal bands, is the work area that rises, symbolizing its priority. The light in this space is introduced through a window that overlooks the patio, in which Venetian curtains have been arranged to regulate the light, and under the window two subtle and airy shelves run its length. The floor has two textures perceptually indicating the use of the spaces, while in the meeting hall it is a more organic texture, in the second height the straight lines projected in black and white speak to us of sobriety and rectitude. The doors were swing doors from Aranda's workshop, made of stripped wood. All the furniture designed has a careful texture and finishes, there are gaps that allow you to see through them, thus allowing you to play with the space. In short, we once again verify that the division of spaces is exercised with the use of effects, textures and finishes, rather than with physical divisions, everything that is unnecessary is suppressed.

Second floor

The staircase leads to the second floor, in front of the assembly hall, and a lobby, where we find a sculpture by Jorge Oteiza. This small space is illuminated by a large window that overlooks the patio. The assembly hall is a space with a single nave, with an elliptical head. It is a space where the walls have been covered with wooden slats, for acoustic treatment,[8]​ a sloping space, covered by a vault that surrounds the space. It is covered with a plaster vault, made by Rafael del Rosal, covered with gold leaf, but this vault is not only an aesthetic setting, but is designed this way because it obeys a distribution of sound so that the speaker's voice can be heard from all points of the room with the same intensity.[9]​ The furniture in this room repeats the design of previous chairs and upholstery, the wooden floor. The work was completed in 1955.

Extension

A renovation and expansion was carried out in the 60s, also carried out by Rafael de La-Hoz Arderius. The two buildings merge on the façade, but this extension does not have the hallmarks of the first intervention in the Chamber; certain spaces were adapted to the new uses, subtracting a certain monumentality and design, also losing original furniture. On the ground floor a door is opened for this new extension that reduces the scenic sense of the hall, the library is dismantled and moved to the new headquarters and in its place a meeting room is created. There are scholars like Antonio Pizza who consider that the first phase of the Chamber is a unicum, distorted by the enlargement, which distorts the unitary character of the initial project.[10]​.

Design

We not only see the careful design in the Chamber of Commerce in the space, but we can also observe an organic contagion that extends to the furniture, which is loaded with Nordic influences and references to the American models of the moment. The entire furniture design was also focused on the use of space, using especially wood, with dynamic and angular shapes, furniture was created for each room, such as cantilevered shelves, tables for business and the library, or pieces such as the chest of drawers made of pine wood for the office, with the sawtooth design that will also be used for other furniture designs. In short, what Rafael de La-Hoz and José María García Paredes wanted was a perfect integration between architecture and furniture.[11]​.

Other artists

This great work also houses works by other contemporary artists such as Jorge Oteiza, whose sculptures gave personality to the building. He made a sculpture for the hall that was half a female form, half a conch shell, which was placed in the stairwell. He also made another sculpture made of oak wood, on a stone base[12]. merchants.[13]​ The fact of having other artists such as Oteiza and del Moral, by Rafael de la Hoz, in some way shows the interest on the part of the architect to incorporate artistic creations in his projects.[14]​.