We had the distinct pleasure to interview award winning designer sanzpont [arquitectura] about their original and creative Office Building design work. sanzpont [arquitectura] is an award-winning architectural designer, that makes our world a better place with their original office building works.
sanzpont [arquitectura] ("S[") answered Design Interview ("DI") questions about their award-winning work D525 Barcelona Office Building. Interview questions prepared by Frank Scott.
S[ : The project has been designed through the concept of sustainable renovation, recovering a building built with the aim of reducing its environmental impact of use, extending the efficient its useful life, all with an avant-garde design and LEED Gold certification.
S[ : The main focus was to make this building a statement of sustainability in its surroundings and in the city, but integrating an innovative design away from the classic box-type design of an office building.
S[ : Our future plans are to spread the word of what we have learned while developing this project, both the challenges and the results.
S[ : Of course, there are always different phases during the development of a project. There is the design phase, the development phase and the construction phase. On this particular project, from the first meeting with the client to the completion of construction, it took two years to complete. However, we could say that the design phase lasted from start to finish, since it was a building with so many technical and specialized requirements, the purpose was to take care of all the details so that the project was energetically, aesthetically and economically viable.
S[ : D525 was commissioned by Inmobiliaria Colonial, which is a real estate company. They bought a building with the aim of renovating it and having a premium result based on sustainable standards that align with the company's standards.
S[ : D525 is been used as the corporate headquarters of the company Naturgy.
S[ : The passion that we feel for architecture and the passion for making a project with the minimum impact on the environment.
S[ : The influence of this building has been our past experiences and projects.
S[ : The real estate company that owns the building was our main client, but also the company Naturgy, which is renting the entire building. In this case, we had the opportunity to adapt the design to Naturgy's needs because they were there from the beginning, in the design phase.
S[ : The project incorporates an innovative main façade based on large windows defined by unique krion 3D modules, which have the ability to purify the air thanks to their photocatalytic material.
S[ : The name D525 corresponds with the address of the building, Diagonal 525.
S[ : To develop D525 the use of technology was vital. We use BIM software, real-time visualization software, 3D structural calculation software, energetic analysis software, and more. The BIM software was especially useful since the building is a collaborative project between engineering, interior design, architecture and urban planning. Since all parties worked on a BIM model to coordinate the project, a lot of time and material were saved as potential errors were caught well before construction began.
S[ : Because D525 is a project that was developed in conjunction with the final and only tenant, which is Naturgy, the building has much more spacial integration within its different levels and areas. The building has a glass elevator that allows the user to see what is happening in the entire building, feel the atmosphere of the working places, and enjoy the light and openness within the different levels. On the other hand, an open distribution was achieved in the workspaces, which, unlike other office projects, helps the building to feel free, full of light and connected with the city without losing privacy.
S[ : To carry out this project, it was necessary to collaborate with a large coordinated multidisciplinary team in which each one contributed with solutions, creating a better result for the building. Among those who were part of the team we would like to mention, Campanyà i Vinyeta Arquitectes (structural design and CEM ), PGI Engineering (MEP design and LEED consultants), Projects & Facilities Management (project management), Tulpan Intermediació (security and health), Suris (MEP main contractor), Garcia Faura (Façade main contractor) and Butech (Krion).
S[ : The role of technology has been vital throughout the designing phase, the construction and during the useful life of the building. BIM technology helps to coordinate all the areas and make the development of the project more productive. During construction, the building used a lot of prefabricated elements. On the other hand, the project is an intelligent building that has temperature, humidity, lighting, outdoor air sensors, and more, that evaluate and manage comfort inside the building. The project has a system called BMS (building management system) which controls all the sensors in the building, producing results and graphs, and generates a response to achieve greater user comfort with the maximum energy savings possible.
S[ : As we normally do in all our projects, we made a research on the local climate in Barcelona and the specific microclimate where the building is located. Also, the building´s congruence with the city and the urban planning had to be analyzed. And finally, we used specialized software to analyze each one of the facades to give the best response to the wind, sunlight, and other climate factors.
S[ : The structural challenge was a tough one because the building before the renovation was built in the 70s and was used for housing so, it had structural regulatory requirements far below current ones. Also, the structure was insufficient, it had minimum floor heights and important levels and deformation on the slabs. On the other hand, the new program, the desire for transparency, and current regulatory requirements called for creating new slab openings for evacuation stairs and facility lines, making it necessary to replace the original stabilization core of the building.
S[ : We wanted to spread the word about the teamwork and incredible coordination among different specialized teams and the clients, and how this helps to have amazing results for a project.
S[ : We learned the importance of working together with all the technical and specialized teams from the very beginning of the project because this let us consider all the opinions and expertise of different knowledge areas, making everyone take better and faster decisions.
S[ : We would like to emphasize that when the objectives of the client and the architect are aligned, the results can be extraordinary.
