Polígono ISO

An industrial area that has become an artistic and creative hub.

The streets in the San Isidro neighbourhood of Carabanchel have become a hub for a large number of artistic studios and spaces. The area, known as Polígono ISO, was once an industrial zone that contained print shops, workshops, textile manufacturers and factories like the one that produced the peculiar three-wheeler that was made by ISO.

Following the gradual closure of industrial premises in the 1990s, this polígono (industrial estate) has become the hub of a large creative movement that includes over 130 artists in 40 different artisan studios and creative spaces such as Casabanchel , Corner Gallery & Studio  and Photoalquimia Studio.

The bulk of the activity is centred on Avenida de Pedro Díez, where at no. 25 you’ll find a former industrial factory with a brick façade that was the initial source of the area’s artistic activity, along with music and rehearsal venues like Gruta 77 and Matilda. At no. 21 there’s another industrial building from the 1960s whose interior has gradually been turned into various studios.

Over time, creators, galleries, studios and a small number of schools, such as the European Design Institute (IED), have moved into buildings on other streets in the area like Calle de Nicolás Morales and Calle de Matilde Hernández, attracted by the availability of premises with large open spaces and natural light. Their activities have made it possible to continue to use the industrial brick buildings that were being replaced with blocks of residential flats, giving the neighbourhood a unique, disparate look with architecture from different decades.

Updated: 27/08/2021