Receiving top honors in the Architectural category of the 2021 Tile of Spain awards is “The New Headquarters of the Valencia Construction Sector Employment Foundation” an expansive educational warehouse designed by MRM Arquitectos. Located in the industrial sector of Valencia, Spain, the building is a clear reflection of the foundation’s mission of reaffirming the teaching work and values the organization performs.
Surrounded by a picturesque landscape of olive fields and fruit trees, “The New Headquarters of the Valencia Construction Sector Employment Foundation” location and design are defined by a functional arrangement of independent modular structures that are united by a series of exterior pathways and pergolas. It is through this architectural layout that MRM Arquitectos establishes a deep connection between those who inhabit the building and nature.
Given the complex of uses and relationships of the different areas, the building is organized on a single floor, around two exterior patios without any external barriers to maneuver around. These patios become key elements of day-to-day activity, serving as a space for outdoor work exercises as well as a communal place for rest leisurely activities.
It is the distinguished exterior design that earned the project the prestigious first place prize during the 20thedition of the awards.
The jury praised the use of large-format tiles as a quintessential feature of the building envelope,” noted Jury President, Carlos Ferrater. “Likewise, it also commended the use of a standard product, applied in industrial style, to create an outer shell based on the criteria of cleanliness, order and minimum resources.”
The arrangement of the ceramic pieces and the separation between each module allows optimal operation, great acoustic insulation, high capture of natural lighting, flexibility and versatile use of workspace.
Thanks to its architectural composition and strategic material makeup, the new facility offers optimal lighting and environmental conditions for internal training exercises. In this sense, the use of natural light in the different classrooms and workshops is solved according to teaching needs: the workshops are lit by skylights oriented mainly to the north-northeast and the rest of the pieces through openings in the facade with external control of sunshine.
In the design of the building, the dialectical use of the structure is especially important, orderly and always visible, resolved with the same constructive spirit as the rest of the materials and solutions used. A building whose finishes are a representation of its construction process, using surface material as a fundamentally visual resource.
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