Coorporative headquarters of Layetana
The “Europa Square” in Hospitalet de Llobregat designed by Albert
Viaplana, constitutes a centre for commercial, tertiary and residential use
in a metropolitan scale, and at the same time, provides the city with a new
image. In the buildings destined for tertiary use in Europa Square, the implementation
of headquarters and central offices has been promoted.
Viaplana’s proposal which consists of geometrical ellipses and has its
reference in the Campidoglio, is marked by three concentric rings: a ring
of tall towers, a ring with lower buildings with an arcade and another ring
with towers, which delimits with the park and plaza.
The building for the Layetana headquarters, is situated in the beginning of
the central ring, facing Toyo Ito’s tower, next to Amadeu Torner street.
It intends to acknowledge and create a part of the central ring, taking into
consideration the volume, and does not intend to have the same treatments
as the other facades. On the contrary, being the last element of this ring,
we propose a more open process, not like a container. It is configured like
a greenhouse, where the structure resembles a tree trunk of a forest. An interior
landscape is created that permits some precise relationships: professional
ones, visual ones, spatial ones, the course of the day ones,……to
finally establish a dialogue between the professional activity and the sensations,
emotions, pleasure, nature, essence…
A breeze and a void are captured from plaza Europa. They are attributed through
the immateriality, the filter that allows the exterior-interior-exterior to
be blurred.
This concept, besides its singularity, gets the building as close to the general
complex as possible and reinforces the volume and the established aspects
too- the porch space, the modulated façade towards the square, the
roof space…..
