The project by baKpak in colaboration with EOVASTUDIO is an aggregation of residential units based on a single 6 x 8 meter module. All apartments feature spacious corner terraces, diagonal views, and sun protection systems using fixed and sliding filters. The design is complemented by a network of common areas comprising a reception area, coworking spaces, meeting rooms, and flexible workspaces; and a two-story central volume that houses a shared kitchen and dining area, a gym, a social lounge, and a laundry room.
The building is constructed using a cross-laminated timber (CLT) system of radiata pine walls and floors, with thicknesses between 10 and 12 cm. This allows for the construction of the five-story building while minimizing the use of reinforced concrete, which is practically limited to foundation requirements.
Recognized among the selected works of the 68th edition of the FAD Architecture and Interior Design Awards, «Oceanika» has made it possible to transform an apparently hostile urban void into a high-quality environment for those who will inhabit the complex.
Oceanika Coliving by baKpak + EOVASTUDIO. Photograph by Javier Callejas.
Project description by baKpak + EOVASTUDIO
Born from a competition organized by a private developer, owner of the site of the former "Los Álamos" hotel in Torremolinos, Málaga, the project known to the investors as "Oceanika" is an apartment building with communal spaces (coliving) and complex initial premises that have shaped all project decisions. Neither the location, the program, the construction system, nor the execution timeframe adhere to conventional building criteria or processes, but rather to the contemporary environmental and social awareness that should guide the future of architecture.
The project site is essentially an urban void in a poorly planned area with no direct frontage onto public spaces, bordered by a national highway, a commuter rail line, a gas station, and a small access area to a commercial building. All these limitations, far from posing a problem during the design process, have allowed the building's organizational structure to develop freely, seeking the best possible conditions for each space. This has resulted in a complex that is more of a juxtaposition of residential units than a single, rigid, and schematic building.
Furthermore, by expanding the field of vision, the Sierra de Mijas mountains and the Mediterranean Sea, as well as the sunlight, sea breezes, and mild temperatures of southern Spain, have provided the opportunity to transform a seemingly inhospitable location into a privileged environment for the building's future residents.
The construction was conceived from the outset as entirely modular and industrialized. All of this, combined with the requirements to construct over 15,000 sqm in approximately 15 months, with near-zero energy consumption and the smallest possible carbon footprint for a building of this type, irrevocably focused the structural design on a system of cross-laminated timber (CLT) walls and floors (made of radiata pine) between 10 and 12 cm thick. This system was used to construct the complex's five floors, requiring no reinforced concrete structures beyond those strictly necessary for the foundation.
In this way, the project is conceived as an organic aggregation of the same matrix module, a cluster of units linked by a continuous linear element. This element, connected by a system of walkways of varying widths that link each of these units and traverse a series of landscaped courtyards, allows the end user to journey metaphorically and figuratively along a path suspended among leafy trees until reaching the door that leads to their private destination.
All the apartments are the same, yet different. They all originate from the same 6x8 meter matrix module. Each features spacious corner terraces, diagonal views, and fixed and sliding screens to provide sun protection while ensuring privacy. Furthermore, each level varies the configuration of these outdoor terraces through a staggered section, reducing the building's vertical presence while simultaneously improving sunlight exposure in the exterior spaces.
In addition to the 180 apartments that comprise the project, a series of common areas are concentrated primarily in two parts of the building: the main entrance to the complex, which houses the reception and a coworking space with meeting rooms and multipurpose work areas, and the central two-story module that contains the communal kitchen and dining area, a gym, a social lounge, and a laundry room.
The building is positioned as close as possible to the northern boundary of the plot, leaving the southern side with a more visually rich and complex open and landscaped space, almost like an oasis for the senses where one can enjoy the coolness of the water, the vegetation, and the maximum use of sunlight. To enhance this effect, tall, dense vegetation is planted around the perimeter of the plot, visually isolating the open spaces from the more problematic areas of the surrounding environment. The exterior areas will feature Mediterranean scrubland, an organic swimming pool, a children's playground, and pergolas to create shaded outdoor spaces.
