Matadero is based on the terrain of what used to be the city’s livestock market and industrial slaughterhouse. In 2005, renovations began and since 2007, Matadero functions as a cultural centre, innovation hub and meeting place. Nowadays, activities such as musical performances, art shows and independent research activities take place on-site. The site also has a few restaurants and cafes, a cinema and reading space, as well as an artist-in-residency programme. Furthermore, there are multi-purpose spaces that can be hired for specific events.
The complex of pavilions designed by Luis Bellido at the beginning of the 20th century includes 48 buildings and 165,415 m2 of land that served as the city of Madrid’s industrial slaughterhouse and livestock market until 1995. In 2005, when permission was granted to give the complex a cultural use, under the direction of the Arts Department of the Madrid City Council, work began on new projects whose fundamental premise was to preserve the architectural exterior of the different buildings, which has resulted in unique streetscapes with highly valued traditional architecture. [1;3]
The aim of the initiative is to make Matadero the “cultural heart of the city”, as well as to consolidate and restructure the buildings; remodel its free spaces; and preserve this group of unique buildings in a historic industrialization area subject to strong speculative pressures. The initiative engages, among others, in the renovation of buildings, the improvement of pedestrian accessibility, the removal of architectural barriers, the configuration of wide green spaces, the repaving of the streets and squares to improve citizens’ access to the cultural activities supplied; all of this with the purpose of increasing the urban quality of the neighbouring districts. [1;2]
The group in charge of managing the initiative is composed of a network of different private sector businesses, community groups and the local government. In terms of governance, the main responsible actor is the city council, which takes all final decisions. However, the individual activities which take place on a day-to-day basis are managed by different actors. They range from artistic, cinematic and literary cooperatives to a research programme on artistic practices with citizen involvement, and an architectural joint venture specifically set up for this initiative. Together, the networks aim to create a globally-recognised cultural hub, attract tourists to the area and boost local development while improving the physical surroundings of local citizens. [1]
The initiative has been financed by a co-financing structure composed of earmarked public budget from the city council (€70.000.000), direct subsidies from the national and regional budget (€12.500.000) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) (€12.500.000). The co-financing arrangement has been purposely set up for this initiative. It also generates revenue through activities such as bicycle hire, tours for visitors, a restaurant, entrance fees to events and venue hire. [1]
Maddaloni, S. (2013) Culture and Tourism. Mini Case Study MADRID: Matadero, Work Package Ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013, focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund (CF). Retrieved from ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docgener/evaluation/pdf/expost2013/wp9_mini_case_madrid_matadero.pdf, on 25-08-2021
Pardo Abad, C.J. (2020), Valuation of industrial heritage in terms of sustainability: Some cases of tourist reference in Spain, Sustainability, 12(21), pp. 9216.
Matadero, organisational website, www.mataderomadrid.org/en/about-us, accessed on 25-08-2021.