The Barcelona-based studio Batlle i Roig Arquitectura has projected the new Corporate Headquarters for the Doctors Without Borders organization in the 22 @ district of Barcelona, Spain. Starting from an industrial building, transforming it into an office building where a sustainable, functional, and attractive space is proposed.

The perfect transformation of an obsolete building into an interesting and attractive project. A patio of lights is opened for the entrance of natural light and the ventilation that allows guaranteeing the comfort for the offices. The dialogue of the structure together with the landscaping of the vertical hanging gardens added to those of the roof, generate deep and attractive spaces.
Batlle i Roig Arquitectura studio, winners of the 2020 Catalunya Construcció Awards, designed the new Corporate Headquarters for the organization Doctors Without Borders. A project that tries to renovate and reactivate an old industrial building in the city of Barcelona.

The transformation of the roof is one of the fundamental aspects of the project. Where previously the use was a place for the facilities, the study tries to establish this space as an attractive place for meeting and interaction. An interesting landscape intervention that transforms it into a pleasant place for rest and recreation for the offices.
 

Project description by Batlle i Roig Arquitectura

The proposed implementation of the Corporate Headquarters of Doctors Without Borders completed in 2019 in Barcelona transforms an existing building located in 22@, promoting functional, biophilic spaces designed for people.

The existing building was an industrial building with a ground floor, four standard floors and a covered floor that had undergone different transformations throughout its useful life. The most relevant transformation was in 2003 when a comprehensive reform was carried out, changing industrial use to office use. The communication and services nuclei were modified to comply with current regulations without considering the resulting conditions in the workspaces. The building occupied almost the entire surface of the plot, generating very deep spaces with little natural lighting and ventilation, and the covered floor was used exclusively for installations.

"he project incorporates different strategies to improve the existing conditions of the building".

Batlle i Roig Architecture.


The inclusion of a green and stepped patio is proposed, improving the lighting and ventilation conditions of the interior spaces. The stepped section optimizes the entry of light on all floors and creates terraces that expand the work areas with new outdoor meeting and gathering spaces. A new staircase is also incorporated in the patio, reinforcing the connection between the plants and promoting healthy habits. Vegetation ends up being the protagonist of most outdoor spaces, promoting biodiversity and generating biophilic spaces.

The ground floor is understood as an extension of the public road, directly related to the main façade and the access to the building. A very versatile lobby is projected that incorporates different elements of the program; the bicycle parking and reception located at the entrance of the building, the foyer and the auditorium directly linked to the entrance area and the green courtyard as a backdrop.

The flexible workspaces are located on the four standard floors and are organized around the new central patio, fostering the relationship with the terraces and vegetation. The floors are structured with a central diaphanous area for the work spaces and two lateral strips, located in the party walls of the building, where the vertical communication nuclei, the service nuclei, the meeting rooms, the offices and the rest areas.

The new productive and dynamic roof promotes new outdoor spaces for relationship and production. It is structured in two areas, a main terrace area of ​​the building linked to the central courtyard and the façade of Zamora Street where there are spaces for staying and meeting related to abundant vegetation and protected by mobile awnings; and another area for the building's facilities, taking advantage of existing elements such as the metal pergola to incorporate photovoltaic panels.

"The strategies not only respond to the needs of the building's program and operation, the repercussions of the different actions and the choice of materials are also studied, prioritizing a sustainable design, respectful of the environment and betting on a paradigm shift understanding the climate emergency situation in which we find ourselves”.

Batlle i Roig Architecture.


The project is developed according to the following sustainability criteria:

- Urban recycling, reforming the existing building has meant less than half the CO2 emissions compared to what it would mean to tear it down and rebuild it.

- Promote biodiversity by designing a biophilic building where vegetation is the protagonist on the roof, patio, facades, and interiors, improving people's health, air quality, and biodiversity in the city.

-Recycling and reuse of building rainwater for use in the building itself, promoting the circular economy. Rainwater is collected from the photovoltaic pergola, stored in covered plant tanks, and consumed to irrigate the building's vegetation.

-Sustainable mobility is promoted by placing the bicycle parking at the main entrance of the building, the project complements the new sustainable mobility network of the city. Healthy interior routes are also promoted with the incorporation of the new staircase in the central patio visible from all spaces.

-Strategic elements are placed on the roof, such as mobile awnings and refreshing surfaces with abundant vegetation that help mitigate the heat island of the cities.

-Proximity, environmentally friendly, and recyclable materials are promoted. Certified wood is promoted as the main material in the project.

-Passive strategies are developed to achieve a minimum energy demand, such as the reinforcement of insulation in roofs and facades and the partial renovation of the carpentry, improving the energy efficiency of the envelope.

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Architects
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Batlle i Roig Arquitectura. Lead architects.- Enric Batlle, Joan Roig, Albert Gil.
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Project team
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Architects.- Miriam Aranda, Annabel Barba. Architect and Landscape Architect.- Joan Batlle. Technical architects.- Diana Calicó, Elisabeth Torregrosa. Agricultural and Landscape Technical Engineer.- Dolors Feu.
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Collaborators
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Structural Engineering.- STATIC Ingeniería SA. Facilities Engineering.- PGI Engineering. Facade consulting.- Dos54.
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Client
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Builder
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Vesta Rehabilitación S.L.
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Area
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8,230sqm.
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Dates
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2017 - 2019.
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Location
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22@ District, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
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Photography
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Batlleiroig is an architecture multidisciplinary office based in Barcelona, that combines the practice of Planning, Landscaping and Architecture. Founded in 1981 by Enric Batlle and Joan Roig, it is made up of over 140 technicians from various disciplines. Committed with the environment and involved in the search for solutions to solve our planet's climate emergency, Batlleiroig has been talking about Landscape and Nature since its foundation.

With a holistic view, which always seeks to link the definition of urban to the logic of landscape, a visionary commitment to innovation and a stable, diverse, and constantly formed team, Batlleiroig works in three different disciplines: City and Territory, Landscape and Public space, Architecture and Construction. Areas in which they intervene, trying to be highly specialized in each of them, but without forgetting the essential transversality that is required today to develop any project.

The versatility of their work and the implication that it demonstrates to ensure the well-being and health of people, in addition to recognition, has given them the credibility and rigor to be considered, on the international scene, one of the leading practices in solutions linked to the future development of cities.

Medal CSCAE from the Superior Council of the Associations of Architects of Spain in 2017 for their business performance and FAD 2012 Prize for Architecture and Criticism, they have also received numerous awards for their built work, among which are: The International Architecture Awards in 2020 and in 2014, Landscape of the Year WAF 2018, several Catalonia Construction Awards, IAKS-International Olympic Committee Award 2015, multiple WAF Awards and the European Prize for Urban Public Space 2004.

Their work is presented in the monographic publications: Merging City and Nature. Actar (2022); Batlle i Roig, Building with Nature. AV Monographs Num 20, Arquitectura Viva (2017); Batlle i Roig Architecture 2008-2018. TC Cuadernos (2017); Twenty Gardens 1981-2011. Paisajismo (2011); Batlle i Roig Architecture 1996-2009. TC Cuadernos (2009); Architecture Described. Actar (2000), among others.

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