La Loza Building Renovation / Alonso + Sosa arquitectos

La Loza Building Renovation / Alonso + Sosa arquitectos - Interior PhotographyLa Loza Building Renovation / Alonso + Sosa arquitectos - Interior Photography, StairsLa Loza Building Renovation / Alonso + Sosa arquitectos - Interior PhotographyLa Loza Building Renovation / Alonso + Sosa arquitectos - Interior PhotographyLa Loza Building Renovation / Alonso + Sosa arquitectos - More Images+ 14

  • Area Area of this architecture project Area:  82570 ft²
  • Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2020
  • Photographs
  • Manufacturers Brands with products used in this architecture project
    Manufacturers:  AutoDesk, Geholit Wiemer, Mapei
  • Lead Architects: Evelyn Alonso, José Antonio Sosa
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La Loza Building Renovation / Alonso + Sosa arquitectos - Interior Photography
© Javier Callejas

Text description provided by the architects. The old industrial building that used to be there looked just like any number of other warehouses of its time, with a concrete structure and wooden window frames. It was built in 1961 and had been closed for 30 years. It was painted a deep bottle green (there are still patches of that colour). Structurally it had the advantage of being very regular in the placement of its pillars in an eight-by-five grid. As a result, when the partitions and multiple additions had been removed, what emerged was an almost perfect hypostyle structure that was preserved (this was, for reasons of sustainability, a condition of the project).

La Loza Building Renovation / Alonso + Sosa arquitectos - Interior Photography
© Javier Callejas
La Loza Building Renovation / Alonso + Sosa arquitectos - Image 16 of 19
Plan 1.400
La Loza Building Renovation / Alonso + Sosa arquitectos - Interior Photography
© Javier Callejas

The dismantling, cleaning, and elimination of old plaster (retained in some places) took the building to a new zero point from which to begin the process of occupying it; this was done with avoidance of divisions, leaving the grid of bare pillars free, thereby generating an ordered and undetermined space.

La Loza Building Renovation / Alonso + Sosa arquitectos - Interior Photography
© Javier Callejas

The aim was to achieve an open organization, not occlusive but simply “busy” and with a certain provisionality. This gave rise to the references to the inevitable Branzi and typewriter art. Hence the drawing of the floor plans with an old Olivetti which had survived in the studio, resolving the organizational layout by means of architecture more algebraic than geometric.

La Loza Building Renovation / Alonso + Sosa arquitectos - Interior Photography
© María R Cadenas

In an algebraic organization, the elements occupy a neutral matrix. The grid of pillars once cleaned and “perfected” (reinforcements, extensions, and eliminations), became a kind of blank score – an ordered space – on which to write the elements that organize the program, punctuating the space as musical notes do on the staff.

La Loza Building Renovation / Alonso + Sosa arquitectos - Interior Photography
© María R Cadenas

With this strategy, the various objects (the curtains, the boxes, but also the cases that surround the entrances to the building) were placed in the reticulated or hypostyle space of the building. Working with numbers has the advantage of making it easier to steer clear of any erroneous attempt to “compose” on the basis of closed geometries that might hierarchize or divide the spatial continuum.

La Loza Building Renovation / Alonso + Sosa arquitectos - Interior Photography, Stairs
© María R Cadenas

This algebraic interpretation of space requires maximum transparency and visual elongation. The organization of the space is limited or indicated (it is not divided) by translucent corrugated polycarbonate curtains, the fastenings of which are without horizontal elements to avoid any shadow that would give them consistency. These curtains contrast with the existing concrete structure, providing a friendly and flexible feel. The aim here was was to achieve a perception of the space in its maximum totality.

La Loza Building Renovation / Alonso + Sosa arquitectos - Interior Photography, Stairs
© Javier Callejas

Understanding the grid as the matrix of the project also conditioned the resolution of its bounds, clearly affecting the way the façade was approached. A grid in principle always aspires to infinity, so that its enclosure is ephemeral or invisible. The condition of maximum transparency was linked to the desired energy efficiency. The large floor-to-ceiling windows allow daylight to reach further into the plan (also helped by the polished unjointed terrazzo floor). In addition, taking advantage of three courtyards present in the original structure (intended for the vertical movement of goods), three large ‘diagonalized’ skylights were designed, forming triangular prisms with reflective road paint on their undersides.

La Loza Building Renovation / Alonso + Sosa arquitectos - Interior Photography
© Javier Callejas

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Project location

Address:Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, Spain

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Location to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.
About this office
Cite: "La Loza Building Renovation / Alonso + Sosa arquitectos" [Reforma edificio para usos múltiples "La Loza" / Alonso + Sosa arquitectos] 07 Jul 2021. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/964200/la-loza-building-renovation-alonso-plus-sosa-arquitectos> ISSN 0719-8884

© Javier Callejas

西班牙工厂改造,轻巧帷幕下的混凝土结构

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