For the office project, the team at Arquitectos Ayala conceived a flexible and modular layout. Under the premise "there will be no common area," outlined in the competition rules, the proposal is presented as a transparent and open landscape that fosters communication and teamwork. This encourages the building's various areas to be used equitably by everyone at some point during the day.
Considering Almería's climatic conditions, the design of the solar shading was crucial. A double system of vertical aluminum slats and a series of precast concrete cantilevers protect the interior from direct sunlight and optimize lighting and views to the exterior. The new building for the BCC Financial Group, which houses more than 2,000 employees, was conceived with meticulous constructive rigor, streamlining the construction and taking advantage of the natural resources provided by the environment.
BCC Financial Center- Grupo Cajamar by Arquitectos Ayala. Photograph by Fernando Alda.
Description of project by Arquitectos Ayala
The proposal addresses an office program within the context of the Tabernas Desert. It is a project of landscape order, where architecture plays an instrumental role within the framework imposed by the landscape, climate, and horizon.
Typologically, a series of prisms arranged in a comb-like formation are organically scattered across the terrain, responding to its topographical and formal conditions. Like the spaces between the fingers of an open hand, exterior areas emerge between the blocks, introducing light and views so that from any point in the complex, the horizon and the sea can be enjoyed.
The building’s appearance changes as one moves around it and approaches its entrance. Inside the lobby, the same façades facing the sea unfold. Visitors might wonder: Do we have to go back inside? This space, conceived as the convergence of the office wings around an interior void, creates a spatial experience filled with shifting perspectives, intersecting lines, and unexpected light, inviting a surprising perception of space. A new dialogue emerges between interior and exterior, work and rest, private and public.
This interplay of solids and voids, light and shadow, levels and lines will be the lasting impression for visitors passing through the building.
The design of the office floor follows a flexible and modular layout, creating a transparent and open landscape that promotes communication and teamwork conditions. Meeting rooms and social areas are located at the ends of the wings, ensuring equal conditions for all occupants. Workstations, situated in the central sections of the wings, open onto patios facing the horizon, while at the ends, meeting rooms overlook either the sea or the lobby, ensuring their shared use by all throughout the day. The competition brief specified that “…there will be no privileged areas”; the solution was to make every area equally significant.
The proposal embodies an underlying idea of constructive rigor and efficiency, materialized through a simple geometry designed to rationalize construction and optimize natural resources.
Due to Almeria’s climatic conditions, solar protection design is central to the building’s energy optimization and the quality of its interior lighting.
A dual system of vertical aluminium louvers, configured differently depending on façade orientation, protects the interior from direct solar radiation while optimizing lighting and views. Along the building’s perimeter, prefabricated concrete overhangs contribute to solar protection and extend workspaces into the outdoors. The resulting ensemble presents a transparent image, generating a dynamic interplay of velvety colours throughout the day.
More than 2,000 workers carry out their daily activities on this new campus, which features over 2 hectares of landscaped outdoor spaces, including gardens, plazas, and sports areas, designed to enhance the connection with the spectacular setting where the sea and desert merge.
