Loyola University Campus

The new Campus for Loyola University of is, with these new headquarters, an established institution in Seville, consolidating the great scope and status that it has achieved both nationally and abroad.

The design developed by luis vidal + architects is for a comprehensive response to the necessities of the client, trying to find the optimal configuration of the project considering the initial conditions. This response is the result of a detailed analysis at several levels: functional, environmental, programmatic, etc. Early on this study, several conclusions became clear: it was a challenging site and brief, in an aggressive climate and with a complex phasing plan.

The answer to all these challenges is quite a simple operation: few buildings, efficient and optimized, along a two axis. The main concepts of the project, in a deeper level, are:

• Density: By grouping together related programmatic uses and choosing the appropriate typology we intend to condense and fit in the different programmatic elements, in order to obtain a reduced number of buildings, utterly optimized.
• Connecting axis: Acts as the guideline for the phasing plan and helps to arrange the flows between the buildings, serving as a “linear plaza” to which several uses are connected: retail, restaurants, etc.
• Winter / Summer Plazas: During summer these plazas benefit from the sun shading of the buildings, generating spaces sheltered from the Western sunlight. In addition, the presence of water cools down the temperature and creates a microclimate of a certain comfort. During winter plazas heat up with sunlight, in its lowest angles of incidence and, they are protected from the prevailing winds.
• Flexibility: Thanks to the density of the buildings, some areas remain unoccupied as potential space for future developments. These available areas are intentionally located to receive a longitudinal extension of the buildings, if necessary.
• Engine Plaza: Confronted to the main building, acts as the very heart of the University. The plaza is the meeting point, operating since the beginning (phase 1) and remains as an immutable element during all the following interventions.

Designed with environmental responsibility at the forefront, the building has already been awarded the prestigious LEED Platinum certification.