The CAC Málaga is located in the old Wholesalers' Market of Malaga, a historic building on the left bank of the mouth of the River Guadalmedina. This was one of the limits of what was once the old Muslim city or medina, located on land reclaimed from the mouth of the river.

Currently this area now forms part of the city centre although it was laid out in the mid-19th century on what was then the inner edge of the periphery.

Luis Gutiérrez Soto

The project to build a Wholsalers' Market on land reclaimed from the mouth of the river between the calle Benítez and Alemania dates from 1927. However, due to financial reasons, building work was not started until 1939, after the 'Aviación' project designed by Luis Gutiérrez Soto (born Madrid, 1900) and Juan Jáuregui had won the competition convened by the City Council of Malaga in 1937. The Market was opened in 1927. By that time Luis Gutiérrez Soto was an acknowledged architect and part of the so-called Modern Movement. His designs included the Cine Europa (Madrid, 1928), Barajas Airport (Madrid, 1930), the Cine Barceló (Madrid, 1930), the Bar Chicote (Madrid, 1931) and the Cine Ronda (Vitoria, 1935), among others. Luis Gutiérrez Soto was one of the leading exponents of Rationalism, and for many critics, the best Madrid architect. Gutiérrez Soto gained his degree in 1923 and was part of the group entitled by Arlos Flores 'The Generation of 25 *. The members of this group worked in different styles, but with the Modern Movement and a desire to innovative and improve as their common background.

* Flores, C. Arquitectura Española Contemporánea. Madrid, 1960.

Post-war Architecture

While the Wholesalers' Market was one of the first buildings opened after the War, Luis Gutiérrez Soto retained a refined rationalist style characteristic of earlier decades.

The building, which now houses the CAC Málaga, is defined by its austere functionalism, with straight lines and cubic forms. The triangular shape of the plot is retained over its three floors: basement, ground and first floor.

The alternation of volumes which characterises the building is expressed in the superimposition of bodies of different sizes which emphasises the overall horizontality, accentuated by the lateral porches which cover the unloading bays and the canopy on the rear façade, with only the tower marking a contrast.

All of these features make the building a unique design which, following a period of disuse, has now gained a new purpose and function, although this time works of art and human beings replace the to-ing and fro-ing of goods and traders.

The Current Situation of the Building

In 1987, the former Wholesalers' Market was declared an Item of Cultural Value (Bien de Interés Cultural), although it was not until March 2000 that work began on the conversion of the building to its new role: the CAC Málaga.

The remodelling of the building has been carried out by the construction company Geocisa, under the direction and planning of the architect Miguel Ángel Díaz and the collaboration of UNICAJA. The architects Antonio Álvarez Gil and Salvador García García undertook the project of reorganising the interior.

The result has been 6000 squares metres of total surface area, of which 2400 square metres are exhibition space.

The opening of the CAC Málaga by the City Council of Malaga represents a major contribution to the revival of one part of the city centre, largely benefiting local residents and shop-owners.

Data from the report 'The Wholesalers' Market in Malaga', by María Morente del Monte.