"Green Agora" proposal by Zaragoza-based studio Magén Arquitectos has been selected as the winner of the competition for the construction of the Vocational Training building for the digital campus, which will be part of the new Aragonese Technology District (DAT) Alierta, located on the Río Ebro University Campus in Zaragoza, Spain.

The entry was chosen from among eleven proposals submitted, the second being "S1nerg1as," presented by the Barcelona-based firm Sulkin Marchissio, and the third being "Habitar," by the firm Idom Consulting. The winners will receive a prize of 6,000 euros and will be awarded the contract to draft the basic and execution projects.

The jury identified the central atrium in Magén Arquitectos' proposal as a key distinguishing element. Conceived as a large shared space for gathering and interaction, it is built with a timber structure and allows natural light to enter gradually through a stepped section. The design of the entrance, which frames and emphasizes the access to the building, was also positively valued.

The proposal presents a clear, efficient, and flexible spatial organization, structured around a perimeter bay that encloses a generous central area conceived as an interior agora. The architects envision this core as a stepped atrium-patio that diagonally connects the different levels of the building, offering direct views of the landscaped roofs.

"Ágora Verde" by Magén Arquitectos. Rendering by Bigshots

"Ágora Verde" by Magén Arquitectos. Rendering by Bigshots.

The building will incorporate a functional program equipped with state-of-the-art technology, including laboratories for robotics and additive manufacturing (3D printing), an immersive room with virtual and mixed reality, a gaming classroom focused on video game design, hardware and electronics workshops, a compact data center, fourteen classrooms, and twelve individual videoconferencing booths for virtual learning. Additionally, the program includes three business incubators and a coworking area.

These new facilities will enable the relocation of the current digital Vocational Training center, which is currently housed in the Aragón Pavilion from Expo 92.

More information

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Architects
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Project team
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Jaime Magén, Francisco Javier Magén, Javier Garuz, Alba Zamora, Mario López.

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Area
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4,800 m² (+1,360 m² basement).

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Dates
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July 2025.

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Venue / Location
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Aragonese Technology District (DAT) Alierta, located on the Río Ebro University Campus in Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.

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Renderings
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Magén Arquitectos is an architecture and urban planning studio based in Zaragoza, founded in 2002, by Jaime Magén (Zaragoza, 1974) and Francisco Javier Magén (Zaragoza, 1980), both architects from the University of Navarra (ETSAUN) and Master in Theory and History of Architecture (ETSAUN), and Francisco Javier Magén, an architect from ETSAUN and Master's Degree in Architecture from the University of Zaragoza. The studio addresses the design and development of projects, from a reflective position committed to the materialization of architecture, addressing disciplinary issues at multiple scales, from the place and public space to the construction detail and environmental strategies, using contemporary methodologies and tools. to explore in each case new ways of integrating a guiding idea of ​​the programmatic and functional conditions of the building in the context and the built landscape.

Our first construction project -68 VPO homes in Zaragoza- won the Bauwelt Prize (Munich, 2007) for the best international debut in collective housing. Since then, the studio's works have received over 80 national and international awards. Among others, in the FAD, Aplus, Enor, CSCAE, Hispalyt, NAN,… Awards in Spain and the Detail Preis, AIT, Brick Awards, Barbara Cappochin, Giancarlo Ius Gold Medal, MEA of Mediterranean Sustainable Architecture, Architizer,… in Germany, Austria, Italy, Greece and the USA, respectively. Six works have been Selected, Awarded or Finalist in the Spanish Architecture Biennials 2011, 2013, 2015, 2021 and 2023. The studio's career has been recognized with the Design Vanguard Award from Architectural Record to the 10 emerging Architecture studios worldwide and the International 40under40 Award from the European Center for Architecture, Art Design and Urban Studies and Chicago Atheneum. The projects have been published in more than 200 articles in books and specialized magazines
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Published on: July 31, 2025
Cite:
metalocus, SARA GENT
"Magén Arquitectos wins the DAT competition with "Ágora Verde"" METALOCUS. Accessed
<http://www.metalocus.es/en/news/magen-arquitectos-wins-dat-competition-agora-verde> ISSN 1139-6415
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