Caixa Forum

Somewhere incredible we love from across the Ryanair network.

Words by Ed Chamberlin

MADRID
The Caixa Forum is another fantastical piece of architecture from those wacky folks at Herzog & de Meuron. Based around the Central Eléctrica de Mediodía, an old electrical power plant, it is now a cultural centre that holds film screenings, art exhibitions, musical concerts and conferences. The interior is futuristic in blazing Clockwork Orange-style white, while the outside is a wonderful game of two halves: the red, clay-coloured side of the main building and the extraordinary wall garden on the other side. One of the aspects of the facelift Herzog & de Meuron gave the Central Eléctrica de Mediodía in 2008, was removing the stone base that originally supported it giving the building an eyepopping, levitating look that really makes it stand out.