OAB: the azahar group headquarters

the azahar group image © alejo bague, courtesy OAB

OAB (office of architecture in barcelona) has just sent images of their latest work: a two wings building located in the castellon area, spain.

the azahar group is active on the field of recycling, waste-treatment plants, environmental consultancy and construction and garden design. the headquarters is erected as an icon building maintaining a close relationship with the landscape. to both the north and west the topography of the mountains serves as a backdrop to the building, against which the geometrical roofs repeatedly stand out. from a distance their facetted shape and outline help situate the building in the landscape. orientated on the east-west axis, the headquarters building is structured as two wings united by a central body around two open patios of a very different sort. the first as a ‘parade ground’ or external reception area for users and visitors, and the rear one, landscaped and for more private use. these patios provide a cross view between the glazed frontages, and no direct radiation exists towards the interior inhabitable spaces.

the azahar group image © alejo bague, courtesy OAB

the azahar group image © alejo bague, courtesy OAB

the azahar group image © alejo bague, courtesy OAB

the azahar group- night view image © alejo bague, courtesy OAB the azahar group image © alejo bague, courtesy OAB

the azahar group image © alejo bague, courtesy OAB

the four wings that accommodate the company’s different departments converge in a main hall which, as well as acting as a distributor, is a large exhibition space. the lighting of this hall is overhead, so that the special north light is introduced inside the building through a huge skylight extending over a sequence of girders. the ceilings inside faithfully reflect the geometry of the roof and the vision of the continuity of these is produced by transparent glass tympani supported on the dividers of the different rooms. for the resolution of all the cladding the OAB sought a continuous facing that could be applied to both the facade and the roof. to arrive at the maximum energy saving and find a sustainable solution was included in the proposed objectives. hence, there arose a new material applied to the coteterm system: a flexible and self-washing stucco, white in color, that needs no further joints than those of the actual implementation of 2-3 mm.

an important environmental feature of the buildings is the channeling of water from all the roofs and the outside areas to a cistern-reservoir, the latter being used in the watering of exteriors and nursery plantings on the plot of land. lastly, the services and maintenance building, 250 m in length, with a sloping roof favoring cross-ventilation, gradually cuts across the contour lines, adapting to the slope and increasing in height in accordance with the uneven ground and the use of different spaces (cloakrooms, work areas, machinery, warehouses, garages).

the azahar group image © alejo bague, courtesy OAB

section

ground plan

general info: location: carretera nacional n-340, castellon client: grupo de empresas azahar date project: 2004 construction: 2009 author: carlos ferrater – nùria ayala collaborator: emilio llobat photographer: alejo bagué area: 4.304 m2 cost: 1.711.142 Euros