Located in an industrial enviroment within the city, this facade renovation project of a 5-stores building for the CUALTIS Headquarters - although it could seem simple - deepens on the conception of building as a symbol, an icon that enters in the collective ideals. DENORTE has started is corporative architecture carrer with it, and the artist SUSO33 has been in charge of embody his known presences, confronting the building and the user's scales, transforming the white lattice in a huge canvas. The architectural photographer David Frutos brings us closer to this work.
Project description by DENORTE
DESIGN PROCESS
We started with the Project in 2010, when we decided to believe in the Singular Design of CUALTIS, and after having part also in the construction of their offices in Murcia.
The old construction was a building with red bricks fronts and full of windows (128 units). How this is an administrative area, placed in one industrial zone in Madrid and we thought to risk with the Final Design.
The building is far from the most passable places, so we needed to move it to a first line. To make it easy to recognize the construction among others near from there.
We began with the idea of the trapezoidal volume and the heigh (5 floors ) of the ground and decided to cover all with a second structure, also called skin. Projecting shadows, that make lower Interior solar charge of different departments. That way, we easily differentiate ground floor between the others, changing color and use of the others external structures (skins).
After covering with the skins, we choose some pieces with big spaces, separated 15 cm from the main structure. Both pieces are made in the same material, respecting the essence of manufacturing process. With that will be reach the sensation of being a natural and continuous texture and plot but not a repetitive view. Also, the plot will be over the highest point of the building, allowing to see clearly the sky through the big spaces. Then we get a lighter, ethereal and more trivial building.
FRONT LIKE A CANVAS
When we have generate the whole of the building, with a mat white double skin on his four fronts. That space will be used like an enormous and irregular canvas, expecting the intervention of the artist SUSSO33.
Thinking about 2010, when Spain went into a big crisis, damaging in special construction area. It lets a lot of unfinished projects, only the structure was up. Then properties, decided to order some artists to decorate these spaces with big pictures making a cleaner and smarter place.
Urban artist SUSSO33, has acted over the party walls or demolished spaces, that we call “absences”. Life had been on these walls time ago.
That is the reason why we decided to believe to him for that project from the begin. Define the four fronts of the building like a naked canvas. Absence changes to presence, making the building more personal.
