Nuevos Ministerios (Madrid)

Nuevos Ministerios is a government complex that houses the headquarters of several ministries in the Chamberí district of Madrid, Community of Madrid, Spain; currently, it houses the headquarters of the Ministries of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Labour and Social Economy, Housing and Urban Agenda and Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge.

It is located in the block delimited by Paseo de la Castellana, Raimundo Fernández Villaverde and Agustín de Betancourt streets and Plaza de San Juan de la Cruz.

The original project was the work of the architect Secundino Zuazo Ugalde and from very early on it had the sponsorship of the then Minister of Public Works, Indalecio Prieto. Its construction began in 1933 and, despite being paralyzed during the Civil War, the entire complex was completed in 1942. The entire architectural complex is fully integrated into the so-called AZCA center, one of the most important business and office centers in the capital. Also nearby is the Nuevos Ministerios Madrid Metro station, an interchange with Madrid Buses and Cercanías Madrid.

The current aspect of the whole retains much of the original form and style of the project, in which the echoes of the Monastery of El Escorial (in whose maintenance Zuazo worked) and the House of Flowers (an earlier work by Zuazo).

The complex consists of a large central space with open spaces, fountains and ponds, around which different ministries are arranged, as well as a large arcade on the side facing Paseo de la Castellana. The archery is one of the most characteristic elements of the whole. Underneath the patio was excavated the one that at the moment is the station of Nuevos Ministerios.

The open space is used as a park by locals. It is decorated with historic items related to public works, such as road construction machinery and anchors.

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