Light and harmony in the new design center of Figueras, Miriam Castell's team combines warm materials such as wood, to breathe new life into the old warehouse, which is enhanced with the wide natural light that dominates the space, painted in its entirety in white giving the old structure a new appearance.
Figueras International Seating, the company specializing in the design and manufacturing of high-end fixed seating and movable seating solutions for public spaces, inaugurated a new Design Centre designed by Miriam Castells Studio. The company wanted to update the facility at the core of all new product design and development, this coinciding in time with a renewal process of its corporate image.
 

Project description by Miriam Castells Studio

The renovation had to consider the ultimate purpose of the centre which is, from this space, to study market trends, consumer needs as well as design, materials and finishes of Figueras new product generation. The whole project had to be conceived around that idea.

For the site of the Design Centre, an old warehouse was chosen, found in one of the factory premises, located in the outskirts of Barcelona, seeking to emphasize its “Industrial Design” tradition.

The connection between the different factory spaces creates a tangible union between the product design process and the product production process. In the same facilities are also found, in an adjacent building, Figueras International Seating headquarters.

In this context, the Design Centre’s concept seeks to preserve intact the space’s physiognomy and place a new module, non-invasive with the environment, where the new services needed by the client are found. The project sought a luminous and ample space that dialogues with the rest of the facilities in a friendly way.

For that purpose, the pillar and metal truss structure, roof skylights, windows openings and concrete pavement have been preserved. At the same time an open space loft comprising a new matte white metal structure and a composite metal deck is created. The ground floor spaces are delimited by glazed pine wood frames.

The space is divided into 2 floors. The lower one houses a historic and current product showroom, a meeting room, the photography set, the model workshop and the office and bathrooms area. On the upper floor is the open space studio, open to the whole.

To give the whole space more natural light, the project redesigns the main entrance access. Originally, it was opaque metallic in corporate red and is replaced by an iron and glass on which is printed the Design Centre graph. The entrance angles towards the interior which invites the user to enter.

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Architect
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Miriam Castells
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Collaborator
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Joaquim Rigau (Architect), 
Núria Moliner (Architect), 
Riaz Forghani (Architect)
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Client
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Figueras International Seating
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Area
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260m² Ground Floor, 
110m² First Floor, 370m² Total.
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Year of construction
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2016
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Location
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Lliçà d’Amunt, Barcelona, Spain.
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Structure
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Construcciones metálicas AGOR S.L.
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Engineering
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Urbans TBA
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Lighting design
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Miriam Castells studio
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Graphic design
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Rubio Arauna studio
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Miriam Castells (Barcelona, 1982), is an interior designer with studio in Barcelona. She holds a degree in business administration from the UB, her passion for interior design led her to complete her studies at the Escola EINA-UAB in Barcelona during four years. In 2006 she became a part of the team of TonetSunyerArquitecte where she collaborated on projects such as single-family house Esperança, or detached housing scheme in Niula, amongst others.

A year later she decided to form a studio with interior designer Marta Bartolome. Castells-Bartolome Interiors projects include the Senior Housing Apartments Cugat Natura, a complex of 32 sheltered houses dedicated to the elderly; Clinica Diagonal in Esplugues de Llobregat, or the offices in Paseo Santa Eulalia.

Eight years later, Miriam Castells creates hew own study, which include projects such as ground floor apartment in Madrazo Street, the Offices Lleó XIII Street or the housing in Calella de Palafrugell.

She is associated with the architect Joaquim Rigau. Member of COAC and RIBA, Rigau developed his training at the universities of Miami (USA) and Kingston & Bath (UK). In 2006 he joined Foreign Office Architects, where he participated in projects such as the Lea Valley Masterplan for the 2012 London Olympics. In 2008 he moved to Barcelona and specializes in Project Management in building and Corporate Real Estate, developing projects such as Rehabilitation of the FIATC Corporate Headquarters in Barcelona, or the Diagonal Clinic in Esplugues de Llobregat (2007-2011). In parallel, he collaborates with MBM Arquitectes, Alonso BalaguerArquitectosAsociados, Joan Pascual, Arkkitehtiruutu (Finland), PGI Engineering and Esteyco in several competitions.
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