Description of project by OMA Octavio Mestre Arquitectos and Elastiko
OMA Octavio Mestre Arquitectos and Elastiko, an architecture studio headed by Iker Alzola, are responsible for the architecture and interior design project for the new headquarters of Magic Box, a leading company in the collectible toy industry.
The project, located in the Barcelona town of Sant Cugat del Vallès, has a total surface area of 3,800 sqm organized over three floors and two underground car parks. With a triangular floor plan, the new building stands out for its ceramic façade in which a series of "bites" or openings bring natural light into the interior.
The interior spaces denote a great personality, far from conventional aesthetics, and reinforce the brand's image, thus fulfilling one of the client's requirements.
The building. Structure and façade
With a total surface area of almost 3,800 sqm organized into ground floor + 2 and two floors of underground parking, the Magic Box building has a unique triangular floor plan that arises from the geometry of the corner plot.
At the entrance, the floors are set back in a cascade around the triple-height hall and the large glazed façade is inclined as if to welcome visitors. The main facades of the building are covered with a double skin of large-format ceramic, sometimes solid, sometimes perforated, which plays with the light inside the building, creating watery effects.
"Change is the challenge. Projects are changeable and the Magic Box headquarters was no exception. Circumstances change and with them the needs of the clients, and designers must continually adapt. We are very happy that the final project ends up reflecting the initial idea or essence,"
- Octavio Mestre, director of OMA Octavio Mestre Arquitectos.
The building's structure has only six pillars, none of them on the 700 sqm upper floor. This floor is resolved to employ long metal trusses that cover the entire space and are exposed, resting on the structural concrete walls that make up the facades.
As far as the accesses are concerned, the fact of having a protected staircase (from the outside it forms the "prow" of the building and its highest point) allows the other staircase to be open to the triple space of the hall next to the panoramic glass lift.
While pedestrian access is on one side of the building, access is via the opposite façade, to take advantage of the difference in level and avoid having to excavate excessively. A single ramp leads down to floors -1 and -2, which are used for parking and storage. On the other side, a green area with a walkway allows special visitors and couriers to park on the lawn.
The careful design of the thermal envelope in all its components, combined with an efficient air-conditioning system with heat recovery units, makes the building highly energy efficient.
New Magic Box headquarters by OMA Octavio Mestre Arquitectos + Elastiko. Photograph by José Hevia.
Implementation and interior architecture
For the design process, Elastiko has collaborated closely with the Magic Box creative team, achieving an interior that reflects the creative, innovative, and fun spirit of the company, incorporating elements and colors from their worlds and characters. The studio headed by Iker Alzola has designed open-plan areas for this building on all floors to transmit spaciousness and allow visual relations between the different interior spaces and the exterior, ideal for the new ways of working. Thus, the project becomes a healthy work area that optimizes the use of natural light and prioritizes the wellbeing of its employees, providing optimal lighting, good acoustic design, and high quality in common and collaborative spaces.
"From the beginning, we were very clear that the interior spaces had to respond to two principles: the creativity that characterizes the Magic Box worlds and characters, and the culture related to the new ways of working".
- Iker Alzola, founder and director of Elastiko.
The entrance lobby leads to the ground floor, the most public floor, which, in addition to the open-plan work area, houses the showroom and the cafeteria with direct access to the garden. In the cafeteria and the showroom, the plastic-textured floor in red and mustard yellow colors takes on a prominent role, helping to identify the different uses of the building and reinforcing the company's creative image. The entire ground floor is highly transparent, inviting visitors to enter it.
The first floor is reserved for the creative team. With the same principles, the different types of meeting rooms are designed, as well as the workshop with space for 3D printers. The second floor houses the management offices, an open office area, and the main meeting room, which has been designed with high glass that overcomes the imposing free height of up to 5 meters on this floor.
The possibility of increasing the number of workstations in the future is another of the concepts that Elastiko introduces in the project. The distribution of the program and the great flexibility of the spaces allow for 75 workstations which, depending on the growth of the company, can be increased to 120.
