Metropolis Building

The Metropolis Building or Edificio Metrópolis (Spanish) is an office building in Madrid, Spain, at the corner of the Calle de Alcalá and Gran Vía. Inaugurated in 1911, it was designed by Jules and Raymond Février for the insurance company La Unión y el Fénix. It is currently owned by Metrópolis Seguros. After La Unión y el Fénix acquired the ground in 1905, they launched an international competition for the opportunity to design their building. Among French and Spanish architects, Jules and Raymond Février won, and construction started in 1907. For its construction, five homes had to be demolished between two streets: Calle de Alcalá and Calle del Caballero de Gracia. At that time, the Gran Via was still in design phase. In 1910...