Landmark for major bank - Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), Spain's second largest bank is building a new head office in Madrid for 6,500 employees. The building complex is to become a landmark for the bank: it comprises an office tower, 98 metres tall, and the so-called "carpet", whose finger-like office blocks will integrate the surrounding, redeveloped buildings already in existence.

Complicated schedule - the project will be realised in two construction phases, which means a challenge for planning coordination, the construction process and putting the building into service: thus the "carpet" is to be completed by the end of 2011; the office tower is intended to be put into service at the end of 2013. The project is to be implemented from autumn 2009 onwards within a tightly scheduled framework and kept within the budgeted costs. Drees & Sommer will make sure that these requirements are taken into account during planning.

Reputed partnership - Drees & Sommer will be taking over the construction management and forming an international working group for planning in conjunction with the Swiss architects, Herzog & de Meuron, and the local Spanish architects, FM Arquitectos. In this way, it can be guaranteed that the BBVA will be represented by only one planning partner in their large-scale project.