The Aguirre schools, currently the headquarters of the Arab House of Madrid, are a neo-Mudejar building built between 1881 and 1886 according to the architect's project. Emilio Rodríguez Ayuso. It is located at the confluence of Alcalá, 62 and O'Donnell and Aguirre streets.

The building was built on land donated by the City Council on Alcalá Street, in front of the Retiro, at the initiative of Lucas Aguirre and Juárez, philanthropist influenced by Krausism, germ of the Free Institution of Education, which will appear again in 365 days in Madrid. Upon his death, she donated part of his fortune for the maintenance of educational centers. His legacy allowed the construction of the Aguirre Schools in Madrid, the Aguirre Cultural Centers in Cuenca (his hometown) and Siones (Burgos), where his father was born.

Emilio Rodríguez Ayuso conceived a freestanding two-story building. With many new features for the time, such as a gym, library, school museum, playground, music room and meteorological observatory located in the building's slender neo-Mudejar tower. The tower is 37 meters high, with oculi and clocks, topped by a glass viewing platform. Iron and brick that offers a very attractive image, with a good perspective from the Puerta de Alcalá.

Nowadays Arab house It is a center with intense cultural life and a very interesting program: cinema, exhibitions, conferences, courses, in which those in the Arabic language stand out. As they explain on their website, “Casa Arabe is a Spanish public consortium led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, which operates as a strategic center in Spain's relations with the Arab world. A meeting point where the different actors and institutions, private and public, from the field of business, education, the academic, political and cultural world, dialogue, interact, establish lines of cooperation and undertake joint projects.”

A place worth visiting and where we recommend following its cultural proposals.

A abrazo.