Studio Banana TV interviews Carlos Ferrater and Patrick Genard talking about their project Mediapro tower in Barcelona.
The section of Diagonal Avenue that crosses 22@ District —an urban renewal area linked to new technologies— is marked by a sequence which, against the backdrop of the well-known silhouette of the Agbar Tower, begins in the new head office of the MediaPro multimedia communications group. Because of its location, the design of the new building pays special attention to the characteristics of the urban environment, and its volume was modeled according to visual alignments and guidelines. Thus, the main headwall was rotated so it would offer a façade fronting on the avenue; the first four floors were perforated to provide an exit to Bolivia Street and draw attention to its perspective; and on the lower level, the tower deviates from the edge of the lot to generate a new plane that opens onto the lines of sight of the adjoining building.
These operations give the volume a sculptural appearance, heightened by the overhang of the tower and its resulting prominent edge, as well as the horizontal body of transparent façade that faces onto the new triangular square.
The office tower offers great flexibility of use because of its open floor plan design without pillars or intervening structures. The different floors vary in their layout, which allows a certain functional specialization of the programs beyond the basic separation between the horizontal body, which houses the audiovisual production and training areas, and the tower where the areas devoted to business management are located.
The versatility of the interior distribution is also supported by the use of a single, repeated model of window throughout the building and running continuously over all the façades, which offers good lighting and views of the city from any point in the tower. The glass panes recessed inside the grid prevent glare and remain protected from direct sunlight, water and dirt.
The skeleton of the building coincides with its final form due to its perimetral structure. The grid of pillars on the façade and the slabs allows the whole to be considered as a large Vierendeel truss, since the joining of the structural membranes or diaphragms with post-tensioned slabs permits the creation of large spans and confers rigidity to the whole. With this system, the less loaded areas of the façade collaborate in bearing the loads carried by the more tensioned parts of the grid, in a sort of structural democracy. Finally, the greater height of the pillars on the ground floors and the last floor —dedicated to building services— as well as the steel colored bronze paint used in the structure and the frames of the windows, grant the building the classic solid look of great skyscrapers.
The building design implements sustainable forms and the natural lighting in all work areas is impeccable. The grid itself attenuates and uniformly diffuses the natural light. The structural proposal was carried out with great attention to environmental aspects. The large glass walls facing onto the public square are oriented to the north to avoid direct sunlight exposure. On the roof of the low building housing the sets and cinematographic production areas, latest generation solar cell panels have been installed.
Interview by Studio Banana TV. Translation by Harold Ortiz.
