Basque Health Department HQ was designed by Coll-Barreu Arquitectos located in Bilbao, Spain. Bilbao, a city with an open and welcoming attitude towards contemporary architecture, is now the proud owner of a new architectural destination.

El Departamento de Sanidad y Osakidetza, the new unified headquarters of the Basque Health Department created by the young and prolific firm Coll-Barreu Arquitectos are located in the Ensanche, New Town, at the junction of 2 important arteries: Licenciado Poza and Alameda Rekalde.

The striking façade, reminiscent of a cubist exercise, is a shell of glass placed at irregular angles. The resultant folds generate multiple reflections visible from the inside changing its appearance depending on the point of view, the hour and the season. The architects describe it as “a very effective mechanism for the integration of urban vitality in the interior of the building. The city is perceived like a multidirectional system of moving vectors.” The façade is also a double skin that responds to energy saving requirements, allowing the abolition of traditional air-conditioning systems and false ceilings, insulating heat, reducing noise and letting in precious natural light.

The irregular building spreading over a total floor area of 9,200 sq m will soon host some 250 civil servants and a predicted 600 members of the public daily in a clean cut and stylish environment. The space is divided in seven open-plan floors for offices, two levels for institutional and representative uses, meeting rooms in the tower, an auditorium with 150 seats in the basement, and 3 underground levels for parking.

The building reflects the dynamic approach and the investigative spirit of Coll-barreu Arquitectos whose creations such as The Data Processing Center in Bilbao and the Air Traffic Control Center in Madrid have already received much praise and attention. The Health Department headquarters are currently being fitted and are expect to open this autumn.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 1st, 2009 at 11:54 am and is filed under Architecture Design. Tags: Air Traffic Control Center, air-conditioning systems, architectural destination, Basque Health Department, Bilbao Biscay, Breathing polyhedral emblem, Coll-Barreu Arquitectos, Contemporary Architecture, Dancing Building Design, Data Processing Center, energy saving requirements, generate multiple reflection, Health Department, Health Department headquarters, multidirectional system of moving vectors, New Town, Spain. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.