Its construction was commissioned through an international tender in which Spanish and French architects participated. The winner was Jules and Reymond Fevrier’s project, although Luis Esteve executed the project. Construction was completed in 1910, and the building of the La Unión y el Fénix insurance company was inaugurated in January 1911.

It is located on one of the most emblematic sites in Madrid, on the corner of Alcalá Street and Gran Vía, and has a simple floor plan that stands in contrast to the rest of the building, a rotunda with Corinthian columns and entablatures with sculpted panels by famous artists, including Benlliure, in the neo-Renaissance style. The French flair of its elegant architectural and ornamental elements masks the fact that it is one of the first concrete buildings to be built in Madrid.

When the Metrópolis company took over the building in 1975, the sculpted emblem of La Unión y el Fénix, which crowned the dome, was replaced by a winged Victory sculpture, the work of Federico Coullaut.

© Antonello Dellanotte