The Alcalá 31 exhibition hall is located in an iconic building designed by Antonio Palacios and erected between 1935 and 1943 to house the headquarters of the Banco Mercantil e Industrial. After refurbishment work by architects José Luis Iñiguez de Onzoño and Ignacio de las Casas, it was re-opened in 2002. It houses the administrative departments and the exhibition hall belonging to the office of the Vice President, the Department of Culture and Sports and the office of the Spokesperson of the Region of Madrid Government. It occupies the large central nave, which was once the bank trading floor. With the aim of promoting current creativity, the hall has a programme of contemporary art exhibitions specialising in international visual arts.