An office connected to the street. Architectural studio by Ekain Arquitectura

Project description by Ekain Arquitectura

The office place encompasses the edge of a building in a privileged position in the neighbourhood. The alteration has consisted of the total demolition and the construction of a new office, "ex novo".

The aim was to symbolically underline the activity (architecture) through its most recognizable sign (the brick): for this, a facing brick wall runs through the interior of the office from side to side, dividing the served spaces from the servant spaces into two bands.

The wide strip, linked to the street, corresponds to the work area. It is a rectangular space with an exterior vocation. When the blinds are up, the space gives us the experience of working out in the street. The inner level, lower than the street level on its longest side, reinforces this inseparable relationship with the street. On the contrary, when the double curtain is closed, the wall evokes a building within the building. The office seems to be arranged in a passage, in front of a brick facade. In this way, that ambiguously external condition is always present.

In the narrow band are the secondary uses: narrow indirect access and slight descent; the toilet; the office kitchen; and a painting studio where the architect develops his complementary activity. The ceilings in this strip are low in anticipation of a second floor to house the archive (except for the access, which takes the maximum height).

Exposed brick with a sandblasted finish has been chosen, with extraordinary haptic qualities, which give the premises a phenomenological character, in contrast to the rest of the finishes, which are more aseptic. This great wall is perforated by a series of openings of different sizes so that in its frontal view, or from the outside, the brick configures a ceramic and corporeal volume that has been occupied and that in the workspace functions as a small oteizian tunnel.

The materials have been dislocated: the facing brick, which is usually placed outside, is here the interior material. And the cladding of the facades is solved with a polished white lime mortar.  Thus, the exterior brick remains inside and the interior shine, outside.

"Outside, lime plaster; inside, exposed brick. From the outside, a wall, inside, that opens."

All lighting elements and curtains have been automated to underline the scenographic nature of the wall, whose changing night vision is attractive from the street.

The furniture is arranged in the lower part so that the visuals go beyond the limits of the office until they reach the street. The windows coincide with the work plan: the street is supported, on the inside, by generous shelves. The street goes in, the office goes out.

In anticipation of that wall getting dirty and ending up receiving some unfortunate graffiti, a vine and wisteria have been planted. Over time, the green and its shades will grow and occupy a large part of the facades, which will allow partial revisions and repainting, a mixture of whites and, finally, a more rustic presence.

The standard of comfort and energy efficiency is above the regulatory requirements: an energy bill of €25/month is being verified.