350,000 Ha guest lounge at ARCO Madrid reuses burnt forest timber

At the forty fifth edition of ARCO Madrid, the project 350,000 Ha by Manuel Bouzas in collaboration with salazarsequeromedina proposes a Guest Lounge that operates simultaneously as a constructed environment and a site of memory. The installation draws from the devastating wildfires that swept across the northwestern Iberian Peninsula in August 2025, transforming a temporary interior into a material reflection on landscape, loss, and collective awareness.

The title refers to the total area burned, a figure that positions the project within a broader ecological discourse. Rather than treating the fair as a neutral container, the intervention introduces a spatial narrative that links cultural production to environmental consequence, suggesting that architecture can act as both witness and mediator.

The project is conceived as a material laboratory, where construction becomes a form of storytelling. Timber recovered from burned forests forms the primary substance of the space, sourced through ongoing clearing operations led by the forestry sector in collaboration with the Spanish manufacturer FINSA.

This material carries visible traces of fire yet retains structural integrity. Its reuse is not framed as a technical solution alone but as a conceptual gesture. Charred bark is repurposed as cladding, while the inner core of the wood is transformed into structural elements and thin veneers. Even residual biomass is reprocessed into fiberboard panels, extending the lifecycle of the material across multiple spatial layers.

Through this approach, the project reframes destruction as resource. The burnt forest is not erased but translated into architecture, allowing visitors to encounter its presence through texture, scent, and light.

At the centre of the installation is the lumbre, a monumental luminous structure that recalls the primal role of fire as a social catalyst. Rather than reproducing fire literally, the project abstracts its atmospheric qualities. Planes of light are suspended overhead, their surfaces clad in thin wooden veneers that diffuse a warm glow.

The resulting environment oscillates between spectacle and intimacy. Visitors appear as silhouettes within a dimly lit field, evoking the spatial drama of The Weather Project while maintaining a quieter, domestic register reminiscent of Barry Lyndon. The reference to Man with a Beard Reading by Candlelight further situates the installation within a lineage of light as both physical and symbolic medium.

The ensemble of luminous elements also recalls the modular delicacy of Akari light sculptures, where repetition and variation generate a cohesive yet heterogeneous field.

The spatial composition is structured through contrast. A sequence of suspended planes introduces a luminous ceiling that hovers above a darker ground condition. Beneath this canopy, the lounge unfolds as a shaded interior that encourages pause and informal gathering.

Adjacent programs including the bar, restaurant, cloakroom, and sponsor areas are arranged along the perimeter, organised by a diagonal partition that divides the plan into two distinct atmospheres. One remains subdued and shadowed, hosting the bar lounge, while the other takes on a warmer tonal register, accommodating dining and a more private VIP environment.

This duality echoes the curatorial premise of ARCO 2026 itself, reinforcing the notion of two coexisting spatial conditions within a single framework.

Project Credit

Project name: 350,000 Ha Guest Lounge
Event: ARCO 2026
Location: Madrid, Spain
Architects: Manuel Bouzas / @manuelbouzas_ ; salazarsequeromedina / @salazarsequeromedina
Team: Laura Salazar, Pablo Sequero, Juan Medina
Material Partner: FINSA
Materials: Reclaimed burnt timber, veneer, fiberboard panels, metal trusses
Year: 2026
Photo: Luis Díaz Díaz / @luisdiazdiaz

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