iGuzzini Sky is located at one of the major highway interchanges of the Barcelona area, in an extremely very fragile landscape. In order to avoid modifying the existing topography, a large part of the building’s programme is underground while the rest, the office building, stands above the ground, suspended in the air.iGuzzini Sky is, at heart, a... read more

iGuzzini Sky is located at one of the major highway interchanges of the Barcelona area, in an extremely very fragile landscape. In order to avoid modifying the existing topography, a large part of the building’s programme is underground while the rest, the office building, stands above the ground, suspended in the air.iGuzzini Sky is, at heart, an R&D centre for the development of technical knowledge and expertise in lighting systems, the facilities for which are located both inside and outside the building. Most of the programme is housed in the huge underground container—built with concrete walls and screens, and barely disturbing the natural lay of the site—volume it shares with spaces for stock and distribution, product management, a showroom and a garage. Of these only the stockroom requires natural light, and thus is equipped with some skylights in a roof that also serves as a showroom for outdoor lighting systems.The north side of the building houses the technical installations and is somewhat offset from the natural terrain to provide direct access for maintenance of the latter.Concrete proved the ideal material for the construction of this container, employing conventional concrete retaining walls around the perimeter and precast concrete columns and screens inside. This system also provides high thermal inertia, reducing considerably energy consumption.The indoor showroom features a large indoor exhibition space for the entire iGuzzini product range and space, including an auditorium, designed as a centre for product presentation and the dissemination and sharing of knowledge.Another space—known as the theatre of light—is dedicated to the simulation of a range of lighting conditions for the purpose of precision testing and design of virtually any sort of system the company makes, including prototype development. The high-ceiling theatre, a key facility in iGuzzini’s research efforts, is equipped with movable structures, height-adjustable platforms and a high ceiling adaptable to changing needs in the placement of lighting systems.Like the indoor showroom, the outdoor showroom is designed to provide the optimum setting for the exhibition and testing of the company’s entire outdoor product range. It is conceived as a large pixelated space with different interchangeable pieces in order to provide the broadest possible range of supports for product testing and display. Based on systems normally used in the interior of buildings, it features a height-adjustable raised floor for easy access to wiring and a great deal of freedom in the placement of mains connections. The enormous flexibility of this floor makes this large, open showroom one of the most advanced in existence.Like the underground volume, the corporate office building hovering above it and the landscape, is equipped with the latest technology in technical and climate management and control systems. The principal rationale of its design is to optimize natural light. The building does not seek orientation toward any roadway in particular, but rather avoids imposing this sort of hierarchy on its environment. A large open courtyard framed by the main structure—the pentagonal column system from which the building hangs—ensures homogeneous light in the workspaces. This lightwell acts as a centre point of the office spaces and plays a key role in overall energy management of the building. The column system, meanwhile, leaves the work spaces free from structural elements, opening them up to both the courtyard and the surrounding landscape. A sunscreen covers the building only where absolutely necessary. Indeed, this is another rationale of and way of reading the project: as an expression of bare necessity.
Credits:Josep Miàs - Owner/PrincipalCarles Bou - Technical AdvisorSilvia Brandi - Project ManagerAgustí Obiol - Structure AdvisorJosep Ramon Solé - Structure AdvisorJosep Juliol - Systems EngineerJosep Maria González - Construction AdvisorJaume Avellaneda - Construction Advisor collapse