Multi-Purpose Building University of Valladolid

Valladolid. Spain | 2008

Fundación Parque Científico UVA

The building’s argument is developed under the restrictions of specific urban planning and based on principles of order, austerity and efficiency. A flexible system of spaces is proposed, capable of accommodating researchers, entrepreneurs or students, and organized schematically on the basis of different areas under a continuous skin and around three interior light patios. The environmental quality for work is achieved through two free plans, modulated and divisible into spaces for laboratories, spin-offs or classrooms. Thus the distribution is released from any wall restrictions, since the space may be fractioned according to the specific needs.

The ground floor houses the more public uses, following the universal norm of all university campus buildings. Therefore the lobby, cafeteria and auditorium are readily accessible from the outside, both for the building’s occupants and for professors and students. The building comes across as a simple box whose uniform expression contributes to its singularity. Avoiding any compulsion to play with windows, the continuous glass facade is used to achieve the Miracle Box of Le Corbusier. By doing this, the volume is conceived as an object sitting on the ground with abstract indifference. And in the detail, the glass is folded in its outer layer to achieve effects like those sought by Mies in his tall buildings, where the importance of reflections in the glass surfaces prevailed over the effects of light and shadow typical of normal buildings. All in all, the folded facade introduces the quality of changing density, brought about by the angle of visual perception and the different illuminations.

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Awards

3rd Prize | Multi-Purpose Building University of Valladolid. Spain | 2008

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Publications

AV Proyectos n. 29 | 2008