El Palacio de Velázquez, ejemplo de la construcción industrializada 

Este emblemático edificio de Madrid fue rehabilitado por Sacyr hace 15 años. Luis Esteban, que participó como jefe de obra en aquel proyecto, nos cuenta su importancia para hacer avanzar las técnicas constructivas a finales del siglo XIX. 

Luis Esteban
Director Arquitectura en Sacyr Ingeniería e Infraestructuras

Se cumplen 15 años de la rehabilitación del Palacio Velázquez del Parque del Retiro (Madrid) por parte de Sacyr, en la que tuve la suerte de formar parte del equipo como jefe de obra. 

Los trabajos incluyeron la ejecución de una nueva cubierta y la restauración integral del espacio interior. Un trabajo desafiante ya que el edificio cuenta con Nivel 1 de protección con grado singular y está catalogado, dado su valor histórico y artístico.

Fue la primera obra de Sacyr en el emblemático pulmón verde de la ciudad de Madrid y un orgullo para la compañía participar en la restauración del Patrimonio Nacional. 

 

 
 

Imagen del interior recogida de la cuenta oficial del Palacio de Velázquez.

 

El Palacio de Velázquez fue inaugurado en 1883 como pabellón temporal para la Exposición Nacional de Minería, Artes Metalúrgicas, Cerámica, Cristalería y Aguas Minerales, que se celebró en Madrid ese año, durante el reinado de Alfonso XII.  

Su arquitecto Ricardo Velázquez Bosco le dió nombre al edificio y siguió para su proyecto el modelo que Joseph Paxton había establecido al proyectar el Crystal Palace de Londres. El diseño organiza una arquitectura amplia, cubierta con bóvedas de estructura de hierro, donde el cristal se usa para dotar de iluminación natural a los grandes espacios interiores.

Acabada la exposición el edificio, lejos de demolerse, paso a destinarse a Museo de Ultramar.  Hasta la actualidad donde pertenece al Ministerio de Cultura, quien lo dedica a sala de exposiciones temporales del Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía.

Pese a la antigüedad del edificio, tiene un curioso y actual nexo de unión con la arquitectura contemporánea. Las columnas de fundición, que pueden ser una de las más singulares características del edificio, podrían considerarse como los primeros ejemplos de construcción industrializada porque se fabricaron en taller.  Siendo por tanto una de las primeras semillas de la prefabricación e industrialización, que después de tantos años, se retoma en la actualidad con mucha fuerza.  

 

  


En este contexto de la construcción del Palacio Velázquez, es relevante indicar que la producción y exportación de hierro había crecido enormemente en España a partir de 1875, y con ello surgieron en Madrid las primeras fábricas de hierro (fundido y colado), desde las cuales se suministró al proyecto.

Todo ello permitió que las columnas de hierro pudieran ser elegidas por catálogo y llegaran a la obra completamente terminadas, solo esperando a ser colocadas. 

El éxito de este edificio le supuso al arquitecto Velázquez el encargo de otros edificios importantes como la Escuela de Ingenieros de Minas y el Palacio de Cristal del parque del Retiro, donde continuó usando soluciones de estructuras metálicas de hierro fundido con el empleo añadido de grandes lucernarios.

How to desalinate brackish water and generate energy

Sacyr and RedStack have entered into an agreement to develop electrodialysis technologies that produce both desalinated water—for industrial, drinking, or agricultural use—and renewable energy.

The key to this partnership between Sacyr Agua and Dutch company RedStack lies in removing salt from brackish water while generating energy in the process. The two companies will collaborate on various electrodialysis solutions to make this possible.

Electrodialysis reversal (EDR) enables the desalination of brackish water from diverse sources. Its counterpart, reverse electrodialysis (RED), generates energy by exploiting the salinity gradient between brine and freshwater.

Sacyr brings significant experience with EDR technology, having built the world’s largest EDR facility: the Abrera plant in Barcelona, with a capacity of 200,000 m³/day. We also operate other plants, such as Valle Guerra (San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife), where we desalinate treated wastewater using a membrane bioreactor (MBR) to produce high-quality water for irrigation.

Reverse electrodialysis (RED) generates energy by utilizing the salinity difference between two water streams—typically brine and freshwater. We are especially interested in applying RED to recover energy from the combination of brine from desalination plants and effluent from municipal wastewater treatment facilities.

 

 

 
 

Sustainable use of brine

 

Sacyr and RedStack have successfully tested RED technology at a pilot project through the LIFE HyReward project, funded by the European Union. The project has achieved energy recovery rates of up to 0.3 kWh/m³.

In LIFE HyReward, we explored the potential of generating renewable electricity from the brine produced during desalination. The goal was to enhance the energy efficiency of the process by combining reverse osmosis with reverse electrodialysis. Integrating this approach with conventional technologies makes desalination more sustainable by recovering electrical energy from brine before it is discharged into the sea, thereby reducing CO₂ emissions.

 

 
 

As part of their long-term collaboration, Sacyr will deploy REDstack’s EDR and RED systems in projects focused on salt removal and energy generation from brine streams. Additionally, the two partners are currently evaluating the site for a pilot plant that will use RedStack’s next-generation EDR technology, which offers advantages such as greater productivity and lower energy consumption compared to other solutions on the market.
 

A consortium led by Sacyr promotes sustainable mobility in barcelona with the construction of Metro L8

  • The joint venture delivering the project will link the two major railway branches of Barcelona, Baix Llobregat and Vallés, of the Generalitat Railway Network of Catalonia (FGC).

Sacyr is participating in the expansion of Barcelona Metro's line 8 (L8). This is one of the most important sustainable mobility projects in the Catalan capital, promoted by the Generalitat de Catalunya.

This project will extend the L8 by four kilometers, create three new metro stations (Gràcia, Clínic and Francesc Macià) and adapt the current Espanya station. The joint venture in charge of construction comprises Sacyr (27.5%), Ferrovial (27.5%), Copcisa (22.5%) and Copisa (22.5%). The work is already 12% complete.

Toni Julià, site manager of the joint venture in charge of the construction, explains that "with an expected 19 million annual users, this is one of the most socially and economically beneficial projects within the Generalitat's Infrastructure Master Plan."

The extension of the L8 will link the two major railway branches of Barcelona, Baix Llobregat and Vallés, of the Generalitat Railway Network of Catalonia (FGC), and will allow public transport to be better connected in Barcelona. 

This project has a budget of €300 million and an execution period of 58 months.

Two lots

The project is divided into two lots. In lot 1, two single-track tunnels will be excavated with conventional methods in a complex area with many infrastructures, such as metro lines 1 and 3 or the road tunnel.

Lot 2 begins with the construction of the attack shaft located on Gran Vía, from where the 3.7 kilometers of double-track tunnel will be excavated that will pass through the Hospital Clínic, Francesc Macià and Gracia stations.

The attack shaft will be connected by a 165 m microtunnel with the Joan Miró Park to transfer the materials excavated in the tunnel. In addition, the route foresees the execution of two emergency exits at the intersections with Consell de Cent and Muntaner streets.


 

Progress in the project

Currently, the project is approximately 12% complete. Most of the affected services have been executed, the screens of the attack shaft, the diaphragm walls of the emergency exit of Consell de Cent and the new provisional emergency exit of the Gracia Station.

The new access to the Plaza España station and the diaphragm walls at the Hospital Clínic and Francesc Macià stations are also under construction. These are the deepest of the project, reaching heights of over 80 meters. This is alongside the interchange structure at Gracia station.

All the elements of the tunnel boring machine are also being checked before assembly in the tunnel shaft, where an acoustic enclosure will be placed to minimize the impact of the tunnel drilling work scheduled to begin in Spring 2026.

María Muñoz and Rafael Barrera

María and Rafael discuss the company's international character and how they experience the Sacyr values. Do you want to know more details? Watch the video, and they will tell you about it.

Eduardo Campos and Álvaro Grandal

Eduardo and Álvaro talk about talent at Sacyr. Do you want to know their thoughts on how they believe Sacyr values talent? Find out all the details in the following video.

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Members of the Corporate Governance, Appointments and Remuneration Committee
Name Role
Elena Jiménez de Andrade Astorqui Chairwoman
Demetrio Carceller Arce Director
José Manuel Loureda Mantiñán Director
Luis Javier Cortés Domínguez Director
María Elena Monreal Alfageme Director
Ana María Sala Andrés Secretary
Alfonso Aguirre Díaz-Guardamino Vicesecretary

Board committees

The Board of Directors has created three committees to which it delegates certain powers. These are the Executive Committee, the Audit and Sustainability Committee and the Corporate Governance, Appointments and Remunerations Committee. All are made up of members of the Board.

Average payment period to suppliers

We seek optimum economic management across the entire value chain and our results reflect that commitment. As stated in the Annual Financial Statements 2024, our average payment period to suppliers for that financial year was 30 days.

Entity Analyst
Alantra Fernando Lafuente / Álvaro Lenze
Alphavalue Egor Sonin
Banco Santander Mariano Miguel
Bankinter Juan Alberto Tuesta Vilanova
Bank of America Julius Nickelsen
Barclays Tom Zhang
BPI Caixabank Filipe Martins Leite
Bestinver Álvaro Navarro Ruiz
GvC Gaesco Rafael Fernández de Heredia
Intermoney Guillermo Barrio
JB Capital Miguel González
Kepler Cheuvreux Luis Prieto
Sabadell Luis Arredondo Sánchez-Cendal
Bernstein Víctor Acítores
Renta 4 Ángel Pérez Llamazares
BNPP Exane Gonzalo De Cueto Moreno
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