Interior design studio Madrid In Love conceived the Comet Meetings space as an invitation to immerse oneself in the iconic Buen Retiro Park. Breathing motivation, freshness and dynamism to make the most of every meeting is one of Comet's main objectives. That's why the space and its design were not going to be taken lightly when the team began thinking about its recently inaugurated new building on Calle Alfonso XII.
The Comet Meetings space was designed by studio Madrid in Love as a tribute to the places that have accompanied everyone who has visited or lived in Madrid throughout their lives: each floor of the building, whose names refer to key places in the park (the Observatory, the House of the Beasts, the Crystal Palace...), discovers the treasures of the Retiro and its emblematic places, allowing you to enjoy a warm atmosphere, ideal for a creative team day that leaves an imprint.
"Comet Retiro seeks to be a unique meeting space in Madrid. Being located opposite Retiro, Madrid's most important and busiest park, and one of its great green lungs, we designed the building to be "fed" by the park. The 2,130 m² of the building were added to the 1,180,000 m² of the Retiro, making the Comet space 1,182,130 m². This means that, beyond what happens inside the Comet building, it has a whole park in front of it that allows it to expand as much as it likes," explains MIL STUDIOS' Leyre. "Inside, Retiro is the main source of inspiration. We identified the five major highlights of the park, highly recognizable and emblematic places, past and present, and integrated them into the building."
Each of these themes is spread over five floors:
FIRST FLOOR: GLAMPING
Treesare the protagonists here. The intervention is more radical, proposing activities that can take place between trees, such as camping or building a treehouse in the top of a tree. Aesthetics and materials revolve around this idea. MIL STUDIOS has created a snack area in an XXL tent next to a large tree, as well as a space with two recycled wood cabins linked by stairs, lamps made from cooking pots and decoration inspired by all the essentials for a good adventure.
FIRST FLOOR: DREAM POND
Thereference was Lake Madrid, famous for its large boats in which you can take a ride. The aquatic character and the presence of these boats, together with the omnipresent vegetation, are the main elements of the space. The walls are covered with a collage of different-colored tiles, on top of which is a large green wave, evoking water spaces, but also having a technical character: protecting the wall from the use of the space that serves as a canteen and offering acoustic comfort with the wave, made of absorbent material. The main and most striking decoration are the large original Retiro boats suspended from the ceiling, together with the original oars, lifebuoys and fish that complete the rest of the walls.
SECOND FLOOR : THE ENCHANTED BOOK
Themain theme is the Book Fair, one of Madrid's most important fairs held at the Retiro. The aesthetic of this floor is based on the fixed stalls of the Cuesta de Moyano: their characteristic blue color and orange awnings, as well as the presence of books, are the main elements addressed in the common spaces. For this reason, the main corridor is surrounded by a blue base with an installation of around 500 reclaimed books glued to the wall, as well as an installation of awnings framing the ceiling. The meeting rooms on this floor are themed, with decorative elements referring to well-known and easily recognizable fairy tales.
THIRD FLOOR : THE CRYSTAL PALACE
Ici, the reference is the Crystal Palace, a late 19th-century greenhouse that in its early days housed large exotic plants and tapestries brought back by explorers from the Indies. Today, it's an exhibition center linked to the Museo Reina Sofía, hosting large, fun exhibitions. MIL STUDIOS set out to create an installation based on the characteristic effect of glass with the resulting light, colors and reflections. They achieved this with colored methacrylate lamps on the ceiling, and colored polycarbonate arches in the corridors framing the passageways. All of this, combined with colorful vegetation and furniture, makes for a colorful, eclectic space. The meeting rooms match the concept, with tapestries and vegetation reminiscent of the early days of the Crystal Palace.
FOURTH FLOOR : THE HOUSE OF BEASTS
One of the most curious is the House of Beasts, which refers to a former zoo located in Retiro. The presence of exotic animals such as tigers, bears and monkeys gives its name to this place, which is now a library. To shape this floor, they drew on the zoo's origins, where large brick facades and grilled windows housed Madrid's great beasts. The way we approached the materiality of this floor was to use a brick base with large mirrors fitted with grilles, making our reflection the protagonist of the story. Another very characteristic feature of the zoo was the monkey moat, with a large, dry tree in the center in which the monkeys played. MIL STUDIOS introduced this tree into the center of the space and set the monkeys free to play all over the floor. This huge, dry, natural tree gives shape to the floor, but its small branches are responsible for the small details in the tree house. In this way, they made sure to exploit all the natural materials used in the project. The meeting rooms are home to animals of all kinds: pink flamingos, rhinoceroses, lizards, disco sheep...
SEVENTH FLOOR : THE GREAT OBSERVATORY
Agreat unknown, but very important in the park, is the Real Observatorio de Madrid, which houses an old telescope, now unused, but home to a museum. On the seventh floor, we have one of the best views in Madrid: a large terrace offering a 180° view of the Retiro and how it opens out onto Madrid. We felt we should turn it into our personal observatory, and called it CAC (COMET ASTRONOMIC CENTER). The intervention was minimal, as the idea was to maintain the space as a "found" place invaded by vegetation and time. We introduced playful spatial references, such as disco balls and planet-like lamps. The space is designed to be open-plan, with two seating areas featuring modular sofas that adapt to different room compositions.
In the Comet Retiro space, the aim was to create a fun and different place on each floor, yet easily recognizable in terms of the themes addressed. This allows visitors not only to enjoy this exceptional location and all the services offered by Comet, but also to learn more about the great park that lies beneath their feet, promoting the values of preserving and caring for the environment that surrounds us: the city, nature and history.
The key to their success lies in promoting face-to-face meetings in extremely well-equipped environments that encourage collective intelligence in an inspiring setting. So, as you stroll through the various floors of the 1,900 m² building located opposite Retiro Park on Calle Alfonso XII, you breathe in the motivation, freshness and dynamism spread across 19 rooms. At Comet, you'll find meeting rooms to suit every need, common areas worthy of Google, a silence room for private calls, and a terrace with a privileged view of Retiro Park, where you can relax, spend some quality time or enjoy an afterwork with excellent catering.
The building inspires and becomes the ideal setting to let creativity express itself and encourage exchanges, while offering the right level of services to focus on the essentials.
