alberto campo baeza: offices in zamora

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Dec 13, 2012

first image
'offices in zamora' by alberto campo baeza
image © javier callejas sevilla
all images courtesy of alberto campo baezas

situated within the medieval center of the city of zamora, spain, the new office building occupies the old church garden, near the river and facing
the cathedral and its square. the architects, madrid-based studio alberto campo baeza, played with a simple and powerful dichotomy of material
and space, the synchronicity and unity of heavy and light, earth and air. a mammoth stone wall encloses the angular footprint of the site with simple
voids strategically creating apertures in the solid membrane, creating moments to view the outer world. at the entrance, a cornerstone with the phrase
'HIC LAPIS ANGULARIS MAIO MMXII POSITO' engraved into it's face, representing the past, deeply rooted into the soil: the memory. upon crossing
the colossal threshold the feeling of weight and solidity are lifted in a serene courtyard where the floors and walls are made of the same tranquil rock,
interrupted on occasion by a tree whose color is intensified by the soft neutral tones of the surroundings.

in the middle, white slender columns support thin floor planes wrapped in a double glass skin made up of panels measuring 6 meters by 3 meters,
1.2 centimeters thick. its crystalline structure is composed entirely of glass planes and clear structural silicon, including the corners, trapping within
the interstitial gap the true material of the building: air. a complete inversion from the outer wall that defines the property, the office spaces in turn
offer complete thermally controlled transparency, on the corner of which 'HOC VITRUM ANGULARIS MAIO MMXII POSITO' is marked with acid
looking towards the sky: the future.

entry to the office building
image © javier callejas sevilla

a double glass skin wraps the construct
image © javier callejas sevilla

tranquil exterior courtyard
image © javier callejas sevilla

void in the outer wall
image © javier callejas sevilla

image © javier callejas sevilla

an air space between the double skin system helps regulate temperatures
image © javier callejas sevilla

image © javier callejas sevilla

interior offices with transparent partitions
image © javier callejas sevilla

inset columns create an open flexible space
image © javier callejas sevilla

image © javier callejas sevilla

lobby
image © javier callejas sevilla

interior common space and stairs
image © javier callejas sevilla

glass inscription: the future
image © javier callejas sevilla

stone inscription: the memory
image © javier callejas sevilla

entry at the cathedral square
image © javier callejas sevilla

image © javier callejas sevilla

bird's eye view
image © javier callejas sevilla

set within the medieval town center
image © javier callejas sevilla

elevation at night
image © javier callejas sevilla

model
image © alberto campo baeza

model
image © alberto campo baezas

section model
image © alberto campo baezas

site plan

floor plan / level 0

floor plan / level 1

section

construction detail

project info:

architects: alberto campo baeza, pablo fernández lorenzo, pablo redondo díez, alfonso gonzález gaisán, francisco blanco velasco
location: obispo manso, 1. zamora
client: junta de castilla y león. consejería de hacienda
competition: 2004
project: 2006
construction: 2008-2012
area: 12.100 m2
architects collaborators: ignacio aguirre lópez, miguel ciria hernández
other collaborators: alejandro cervilla garcía, emilio delgado martos, petter palander, sergio sánchez muñoz
structural engineer: eduardo díez - ideee
mechanical engineer: úrculo ingenieros
quantity surveyor: juan josé bueno crespo
glass consultant: josé pablo calvo busello
contractor: ute edificio consejo consultivo: dragados - san gregorio
stone work: areniscas de los pinares
glass curtain: proinller
roofing installation: intemper
stainless steel work: dacin
concrete paving: argapref
painted resin paving: rinol rocland suesco, s.l.
gypsum board work: zamorana de aislamientos termo-acústicos
wood work: hnos. garcía santiago, s.a.
elevators: schindler
hvac: atil cobra
lighting: agosa
furnitures: nuar (sellex), dacin, ciprés (formica)
gardening: viveros gimeno salamanca s.l.
awning/curtains: ladis protección solar s.l.

danny db

12.13.12

Beautiful photos – so nice to see human in habitation. Also wonderful to see developmental drawings AND models.

Tgc says:

Dec 14, 2012

Reply
Imprisoned glass structure.

Kenneth Smythe says:

Dec 14, 2012

Reply
Beautiful, elegant work and presentation.

mArkW says:

Dec 14, 2012

Reply
Mssr. Corbusier, eat your heart out

what a phenomenal piece of architecture

dbkii says:

Dec 14, 2012

Reply
Outstanding!

nelsondreyes architect says:

Dec 15, 2012

Reply
Bizarre project, but incredibly beautiful and thoughtful. I like the way he hides the hyper-transparent glass building behind a thick stone wall, as if to mediate between the medival city and this new semi-private space and office building. And those glass to glass to glass corners are f***ing amazing. Clear Cut!!

Max says:

Dec 15, 2012

Reply
I was born in Zamora and I usually come back. This building is closed. Nobody can visite it. We only can know it by this article. What is the meaning of Architecture? It is a nonsense. My English is not good. Sorry

Mercedes says:

Dec 16, 2012

Reply
It is a government building, not “offices”, and the peolpe who appear are actors. What a pity!
Good government needs vigilant citizens.

Mercedes says:

Dec 16, 2012

Reply
What a beautiful project. Incredible concept and detailing, amazing craftmanship.

Luis M. Aguilar says:

Dec 17, 2012

Reply
I would like to see the building performance between the 2 glass layers in natural weather condition. Not so thoughtful afterall then.
Deceptively pictures with not a soul in it and a lone picture taken to “animate” it.

Chanyatola says:

Dec 19, 2012

Reply
I’m always disappointed when architecture is presented out of the context of it’s lived-in functionality. Buildings only exist like this very briefly, or unless, as Mercedes points out, they have no purpose (but to meditate on the thing). I think a greater achievement would be for the building to retain this marvelous spatial dynamic with the textures of books (say), random lighting, leaves and people moving about within. It is an amazing concept realized but one that is presented, as most structures initially are, in a vacuum of life, which is at odds completely with it’s ultimate purpose and cultural link. Ephemeral.

Rick says:

Dec 23, 2012

Reply

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