FREE-STANDING ILLUSION

Office building in Ibiza, Spain

The design of this office building is based on a premise that is considered essential to facilitate occupancy changes over time: establishing a simple, open-plan geometry which houses the main program of the building with the largest possible surface area. To achieve this, the following strategies are put into place:

1. Minimization of the surface area for servant spaces — albeit within adequate comfort condition — in order to maximize the size of those housing the main program of the building. That way — given that most of the buildable area is allocated to said main program — the depth of the volume housing it, which we call “box”, can have adequate dimensions.

2. The server spaces have been located “outside” the box. Doing so allows the main space to have a very simple geometry, without nooks and crannies that could potentially prevent fitting the main program appropriately or give rise to complicated layouts and residual spaces.

The proposed scheme, therefore, consists of a large central volume that houses the served spaces and three attached volumes, two on the east and west sides respectively — up against party walls —  and another to the north facing an inner courtyard. These three volumes house the servant spaces (bathrooms, circulations cores, MEP, etc.). In addition, a basement level will house equipment, a changing room, and an archive.

The large central volume or “box” rests on the ground floor, which is conceived as a slightly set back, glazed plinth. That way the box hangs somewhat over the street. The side volumes are in turn set back with respect to the central box. The overall composition, therefore, comprises a "levitating" box to which three clearly differentiated volumes, set back, are attached.

One of the main aims of this proposal is to generate marked separations with respect to the adjacent buildings in order to highlight the autonomy or independence of the main box. This singularization is fundamental to us as the building will house a public use with a certain representational character on the island — very different from the housing program of the adjacent buildings — and consequently, it will require a characteristic identification. Since the building will not stand out by height relative to the neighboring constructions, it will do so by eliciting an independent reading of its central volume.

There are two different types of enclosures that will enable a clear distinction between the main volume and the other three attached to it. The latter will be covered with aluminum panels, while the central one will be wrapped in a ceramic lattice originating the principal image of the building. This enclosure, combining Mediterranean tradition and present-day construction technology, will sift the sunlight while allowing views towards the park and the inner courtyard.

PROJECT INFORMATION

Location: Ibiza, Spain

Type: Office building

Scale: 1.400 m2 (15,000 SF)

Status: DD phase (2023–)

Lead Team: José Aragüez + Jordi Herrero + ANTE Atelier

Consultants: Óscar Rodríguez (building engineer), Daniel Galindo (structure), Gonzalo Carretero (MEP)