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Architects: Estudi E. Torres Pujol
- Area: 1538 m²
- Year: 2014
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Photographs:José Hevia
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Facilities: Engineers Assesors, Joaquín Canet, Miquel Llinàs
Text description provided by the architects. The work can be described through 5 interest points.
-Environment and Shape
The building is located in an intermediate location between and industrial and a residential area, adjoining the old prison in Palma, nowadays abandoned. The plot is trapezoidal, and the building adapts to it using the maximum surface area allowed, as it was required by the client. Its volumetric architecture is a constant dialogue with the environment, blending the architecture of ‘International Style’ and traditional rural buildings in Mallorca.
-Structure and Constructive System
The structure is composed of metallic pillars and composite slabs. The pillars are attached to the external closure, which allows having the entire floor available except the vertical communication core. In this way, the internal distribution does not have structural interferences, allowing rearrangement of spaces. G.H.A.S. system has been used to execute the envelope, remarkably improving the thermal and mechanical performance of the building.
-Façade, Composition and Light
The main access, located under a big marquee, is built by a glass wall that occupies the main façade's length, which is mainly blind. A single opening in this glass façade indicates the entrance and lets the light invade the reception.
The composition of the other 3 façades has been designed following the lightning and ventilation requirements in each one of the spaces. To do so, only three kinds of openings were needed (dimensions 50x240 cm, 100x240 cm and 150x240 cm).
One of the main objectives of the project was providing the operating theatres with daylight, spaces which are usually closed and lack of it. In order to achieve this objective, North-oriented skylights have been opened in these rooms, allowing the entrance of diffuse light without bothering or interfering with the daily work. The building walls are tiled on the ground floor, bringing a base effect, with a different texture and brightness. It also facilitates routine maintenance works.
White is the predominant colour in the interior and exterior of the building. This monochromatic treatment emphasizes its tidiness and Mediterranean character.
-Services
The functional services have been designed from an energetic efficiency point of view and are revealed, which allows complying with two fundamental requirements: performing maintenance and repair works in a clean and simple way; and easily improving or expanding the existing services.
-Functionality and Budget
One of the most important objectives was to achieve functional spaces, being essential their disposition and the connections created, in a flexible and modular distribution according to the client's requirements. Open and multifunctional areas are interconnected. The design and the efficient selection of materials have allowed to meet a very tight budget.
