National Archive of Catalonia

AESTHETIC AND FUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE EXISTING BUILDING

The current building of the National Archive of Catalonia has a very representative image of its status as the main Catalan archive. Our proposal respects and enhances this image and the perception of its volume because it is part of our collective imagination.
The decisions that guide the implementation of the archive expansion are addressed in this direction:
–    The new volume is placed does not prevent the reading of the volume of the existing archive, freeing the corners of the volume that define the main prisms of the building in all its height;
–    The new volumes are placed parallel to the Vallvidrera road and present a low profile to the main access façade of the building;
–    The functional program is concentrated in a low volume, GF + 1, that encourage the new addition to be perceived as a garden carpet at the base of the existing building. A small volume of GF + 2 is located at the furthest corner of the site;

Functionally, the addition is organized based on the main axis of the existing volume:
–    Along the axis of the existing loading dock, the reception deposits and the expansion of the selection and classification spaces are organized;
–    Along the axis that relates the current building with the future AHPB, all the circulations of the extension are articulated;
–    The visual and geometric relationship with the existing central axis of the main building is maintained;
–    The new north-south axis of the addition building, parallel to the existing axis, provides access to all the archival deposits;
–    A large courtyard between the first two axis acts as a reference space, as a cloister, for the expansion and organization of the program.

We have paid special attention to the volumes in contact with the Alfonso el Magnánimo street, defined by a front of small size single-family houses of GF + 1:
–    The extension fronts the street with volume of the same height and composition as the existing houses, reinforcing the domestic scale of the street;
–    We define the new facade as a pergola that covers the service and maintenance patio, respecting the residential character of Alfonso the Magnanimous.

The façades with south / north orientation have a more pronounced vertical rhythm that ensures the presence of the building regardless of the state of the vegetation. To the east / west facades the structure of the pergola is expressed with a less pronounced rhythm. The facades of the patio reproduce these two rhythms propitiating intimacy to the work areas.

The urbanization of the exterior spaces uses the same species, which require no maintenance and low resource consumption, as in the green roof. These spaces are articulated with the necessary surveillance, evacuation and maintenance paths.