The new building where the Basque Culinary Center is based is located in a plot tangentially to the Miramon Technological Park. This proximity condition along with the steep slope of the lot provide the essential starting point of this architectonic proposal.
On the one hand, the building has to become a symbol of the college it comes from, offering an image to the outside based on technological leadership and innovation; and on the other, it must respect and interact with the low density residential zone it is located in. It is because of this dual condition why the building makes good use of the steep hillside to organise its functional programme from top to bottom, placing the public parts of the programme on the access floor and favoring the specialisation of the programme as we descend, in other words, as we go further into the building.
The building has an U-shape, thanks to which transit by the slope is possible, in addition to the creation of an interior space where the traffic of people goes through, resulting in a lively space where relations and exchanges arise as two crucial elements from the perspective of innovation.
In the distance the building shows different sheets that shape it, equating its scale to the one of the Miramon Technological Park buildings, while, over short distances, roofs turn into vegetable gardens of edible and aromatic plants, nearly neutralising completely the presence of the building in relation to the surrounding dwellings.
The building shows its condition as in situ topography emphasising the support nature of the concrete slabs that pile up as untidy dishes following the contour lines. It is the structuring condition as to stand the activity of the building what the concrete slabs treasure, as well as the dish keeps the iconographic value as a support of the work carried out in the kitchen.
VOLUME GENERATION
From a conceptual perspective, volume has been generated based on playing with scale between an iconic reference point (piled-up dishes) and the building itself.
This condition benefits from the parallelism between gastronomy and architecture, in the sense that as both chefs and architects produce their work for others, giving support to other people’s enjoyment, in a clear vocation to serve the diner or the user of the building.
The use of geometries that recall so much of the piling up of dishes, as well as the smoothness of the waves that represent the topography of the original slope, achieves an unitary effect to the set that works as strategy of fusion between architecture and landscape.
DATA DETAILS
Architects: VAUMM + Marta Álvarez Pastor + Iñigo García Odiaga + Jon Muniategiandikoetxea Markiegi + Javier Ubillos Pernaut + Tomás Valenciano Tamayo.
Colaboradores: Jon Ander Azpiazu + Naroa Oleaga Barandika, Final Project student + Ander Rodriguez Korta, Final Project student.
