Oriented from north to south, Integral Iluminación Commercial Building, developed in two diamond-shaped plots with a total building area of 12,701 square feet.One of the requirements of the project was to keep the exterior structure of the existing house (columns, walls and pitched roof) in one of the plots while a new structure proposed for the expansion of the building on the second plot.Considering that Integral Iluminacion sells top of the line lighting and automatization systems, it was extremely important to conceive a cutting edge architectural design that would become an icon for the company.
The architectural program of the project developed as a three-story building. The first level contains the parking area, a small lobby overlooking an interior garden, exhibition space and employee dining room. The second level has a double story exhibition space with sales desks, a cinema, meeting and conference rooms, as well as storage space. The entire third level was developed for the management, administration and lighting design offices.
The project is clearly defined by the merging of two different elements. On the left side, the existing structure wrapped up in a tensile fabric with a geometric – based pattern decomposed into irregular triangles. The facade structure made of a mixed-metal structure of steel and aluminum tubes wrapped in a medium gray tensile fabric developed specifically for outdoor use only. While on the right side a clean-cut double-story glass prism is raised up on an exposed metal structure creating a covered garage underneath.
The perception of the building varies completely from day-to-night. During the day the tensile fabric facade is a visual element which does not compete with the glass cube of the expansion of the building, creating a homogeneous structure altogether. At night , colored lighting brings the building to life highlighting the metal structure and accentuating the three dimensional effect of the panels in a game of lights and shadows. The building is therefore transformed into a sculpture.This mesh fabric, permeable to light, lit with RGB LED reflectors allowing the facade to change colors. The reflectors are connected to an automatization system that controls the building to change through the night.
The concrete floors, white walls and white furniture reflect interior spaces conceived seeking greater simplicity. Even though this is a retail space with few windows to the street, the interior opens up to naturally lighted spaces by an interior patio and a fountain, focal elements on the ground floor.These simple fresh and generous areas highlight the vertical circulation of the building, the oval staircase, the only architectural element maintained from the original house. The granite floors and black walls contrast with the neutral color scheme of the interior spaces.
