When “the luxury of well-made things” becomes an habit, the artisans who make it possible need a physical space to protects and enhance their work. The LOEWE Campus of Excellence, designed by luis vidal + architects, is a one-of-a-kind ecosystem that brings talent together and boosts knowledge, while maintaining functionality. It is based on the simplicity, fluidity and constructive elegance of the vaults, configuring them in a parallel pattern and adapting their width and height in order to meet the technical requirements, as well as the spatial and environmental needs of the program. Underneath these vaults, some pairs of crossed arches support a perforated ceramic skin that allows the entry of natural light. The overhang of the roof over the outdoor spaces creates a sense of lightness common to the whole building, while acting as a protection element to the façade. Meanwhile, the vaults are staggered in different scales to reach the free heights that are needed in the production and storage spaces. The overall result of the volume is an exercise of visual connectivity, human scale and spatial diversity. A responsible response to the environmental values that reflects LOEWE’s unique essence and becomes an ethical and aesthetic benchmark for future generations.

luis vidal + architects is developing a vertiport concept for Bluenest, part of the international company Globalvia, shaping the future of air mobility. It is a flexible design, allowing its implementation on different scales and in various sites within the city. Three sizes are proposed (a small one, including only a raised FATO, for its implementation in cities and rooftops; and medium and large ones, with both a FATO and hangar spaces, for high-density vertiports).

As a continuation of the concentric footprint generated as a result of meeting the regulations around a VTOL, the design of this vertiport is shaped as a ring with two contact points with the ground, with folds elevated in a curve at the other two ends. It is based on the rising of the take-off platform, freeing the ground level and generating a space that adds value for the community.

The floor plan of the surrounding ring is divided into four sections. Pedestrian circulation flows along the front semicircle, with the main access placed in the middle point. The departures and arrivals flows are segregated, each to a different side, rising on a continuous belt that reaches the elevated central platform. Thus, the rear semicircle hosts a private maintenance section, together with a public one, as a meeting point between the passenger and the city.

The aim of the competition is to propose the necessary actions in order to adapt the facilities of Terminal Building T1 of Barcelona-El Prat Airport for the expected rising air traffic, through the construction of a new T1S Satellite Building and the associated apron in-between runways.

Both terminals are connected through a tunnel housing the Baggage Handling System (BHS) and Automated People Mover (APM) facilities.

The shape and location of the satellite building respond to an exhaustive analysis of aircraft movements on the ground floor, as well as the optimization of the space on the airside, as well as to the planned tunnel, which is the umbilical cord connecting both of the terminal buildings.

The design aims to maximize the supply of connections of the satellite, minimizing the built area in order to develop an optimal economic and functional solution that provides a generous offer of commercial areas.

The design of the Satellite Building is based on the existing Terminal 1 spaces, making it recognizable and familiar to the user in order to offer a readable and relaxed itinerary, as well as a comprehensive image of Barcelona Airport as a whole space.

Designed to serve as the primary health infrastructure of the province, creating a node of knowledge, innovation and health. The architectural design solves the challenge of merging two existing public infrastructures into a new public-private building.

It is one of the largest hospitals in Europe. It is conceived from the patient’s well-being point of view: curative architecture based on sunlit spaces and therapeutic gardens as elements to diminish stress.

The building is on a hillside just outside the city of Vigo and takes advantage of the slope to gain a privileged position in the field, integrating with the landscape. A clear division of the hospital’s program is created. In the lower part, there is a stone base hosting the outpatient area, above which there is a large garden and public space with all main accesses to the Hospital. The six hospitalization blocks seem to be flying over this base, allowing great views of both the valley and the garden for the inpatients. The inpatient area for diagnosis and treatment is on the highest floor, with specialized and emergency access.

The element connecting the whole complex is a large glass volume that hosts all vertical and horizontal communications for medical staff, patients and visitors, as well as facilities and supplies.

Referential Design: Valode & Pistre.

The Health Service’s commission was to refurbish and extend the existing public Hospital into a new Healthcare Complex, tripling the healthcare area and taking advantage of the change to transform how the staff works, thus achieving a highly efficient hospital. The construction and funding of this project are made through a concession scheme in which health services have public management while non-health services have private management. During the construction phase, we conducted a follow-up work of consultation and technical control of the concessionaire to ensure the quality of the hospital.

The design was conceived to mimic Ibiza’s local architecture by using a fragmented construction that introduced white as the predominant color; despite being the largest building on the island, it is still an integrated part of the surroundings. The building extension doubles the existing surface area, housing all healthcare services, while the existing building is refurbished to house supplies and logistics facilities, freeing up ample space for future expansion and other uses.

Can Misses Hospital has been chosen Best Public Service Architecture in the European Property Awards.

This newly built hospital is the first of a new type of hospital for the 21st Century, based on two main concepts within healthcare architecture. “Curative architecture” focuses on the patient’s well-being through careful architectural and interior design studies. Analyzing key aspects such as natural lighting and the creation of therapeutic gardens. Plus, the “Airport Hospital” concept, developed through the relevant experience that our team has gained in airport design, applies a methodology dedicated to the reduction of passenger stress and an improvement of the experience through optimized circulation, spatially explicit routes, and visual connections between the different areas within the building.

This strategy contributes to creating an efficient hospital with a modular scheme that allows for future extensions and maximum flexibility. It is well-connected and has segregated routes for flows of different natures, such as staff vs. patients, thus optimizing facilities and minimizing redundant areas, achieving a recognizable image and an integrated building. The building is organized along a central spine, which connects six different satellite buildings of different sizes and colors, helping the user to orientate within the building and to create clear and identifiable spaces.

Regarding environmental responsibility, sustainable strategies have been implemented in all design phases, applying both passive and active measures for controlling energy consumption and minimizing environmental impact.

Obtaining the first LEED Platinum certification in the world for the integrated campus of Loyola University means the culmination of a complete dedication to one of the design typologies that assumes great responsibility for an architect: hosting the personal and spiritual development of human beings in a crucial stage of their youth.

When Loyola University commissioned luis vidal + architects to design the first private university in Andalusia, the Latin root of the word “universatis” marked the starting point of a project that now dives into its second phase: universality, integration. To achieve this, one of the practice’s characteristic architectural values was decisive: flexibility. Inaugurated before Covid-19 is precisely the flexibility and capacity for integration that have made this campus an example of adaptation to the health and safety requirements of the pandemic, keeping the facilities functioning without post-pandemic design interventions.

Personal and spiritual development is at the heart of the architectural proposal, which is symbolically represented in the two axes that run through the campus: the longitudinal one, which extends along common spaces (classrooms, administration, cafeteria and laboratories), is for knowledge, while the transversal one, which is materialized through spaces such as the library and the chapel, stands for human and spiritual development.

A vast square is formed at the intersection of the axes, a public meeting space inspired by traditional Andalusian architecture that imagines these spaces as prosperous social centers.

The quality of a design is also a reflection of elements that are not strictly architectural, but absolutely necessary. In this case, the Botín Center reflects the successful collaboration between two architects with a common language: Luis Vidal and Renzo Piano.

The result of this successful collaboration, where light, flexibility, transparency and dialogue with the city generate a beautiful synergy, is a design that has transformed the city of Santander, bringing the historic center and its centenary gardens closer to the bay, where the Botín Center is located.

The building hangs over the land, suspended over the sea. It is composed of two volumes, in response to the need to create an art center and an informative programmatic space, including an auditorium conceived as a multifunctional box, capable of hosting concerts, conferences and creative events such as workshops.

A series of light steel and glass walkways separate the two rounded volumes of the building, creating a new public square located above sea level.

The Botín Center manages to capture the sunlight intensely, the water’s brightness and Cantabria’s unique atmosphere. An architectural symphony at the foot of the Atlantic Ocean.

The new spaces for teaching and faculty use at building A of the Alfonso X el Sabio University campus (UAX) in Villanueva de la Cañada have opened their doors after a transformation that offers a more open and brighter image, with an outstanding commitment to the newest technological equipment.

A contemporary interior that embraces digital teaching.

The new classrooms offer excellent continuity and spatial permeability to the complex through a “floating surface” of sound-absorbing louvres independent to the partition, thus creating a continuous and fluid space.

The new faculty spaces, which are open and transparent now, have gone through a transformation to promote teamwork among teachers and a close collaboration with students. These spaces are developed radially, starting, from the red brick patio to the outer perimeter; from the most public areas, such as the high tables around the patio meant for working with an agile methodology, followed by the teamwork tables, to the most private spaces, such as individual offices, all of them having excellent acoustic comfort that favors work and concentration.

The new UAX campus in Malaga aims to become an icon, a meeting point for the community and a model of mutual exchange with the environment. Located in a constantly developing area the complex not only takes inspiration from the surrounding landscape but also contributes programmatic features to the city.

The design favours a flexible educational model of interconnection between the citizen and the city, as well as between students and faculty; a model for the university of the future based on research into specific user needs.

By means of a natural system that leaves behind physical barriers, a gradation is proposed from the exterior, which looks almost opaque, to a permeable and luminous interior. On a macro scale, a large central axis connects two urban landmarks, freeing up a series of public spaces or squares around which the main volumes are organized. On an interior scale, each of these volumes has large, high atriums, which serve as meeting points for students and teachers, and are accessed through covered patios. This gradient space makes the program more flexible and allows for an exchange of uses between indoors and outdoors. The whole system ensures the possibility of future growth.

In addition, through a rigorous study of sunlight with specialized software, a strategic shading element has been designed to accompany the volumes at different heights, reducing direct solar incidence by up to 60%, in a quest for energy efficiency. This attitude positions the campus as a candidate for the first LEED Zero certification of its kind.

The need to cover a large surface over a river became a great conflict with the project’s sustainability; therefore, the solution was to design a fully open structure in all its extension.

The structure, composed of a range of sloping arches that fall in series and weave between them, gives shape to a surface that envelopes, shades, and hosts the platform that articulates all the levels of the project.

The arch sequence defines the diverse support points for the ramp. This fiberglass structure creates a wrapping that defines an open and protected space.

The pavilion is delicately integrated into the riverside topography, allowing visitors to enjoy the spaces in the bridge and the landscape around it.

luis vidal + architects has signed a transformative and pioneering project destined to symbolize the city of Madrid: the new Colón Towers: a building designed to exceed environmental, social, and economic standards, and to become a piece for international reference.

The environmental responsibility that characterizes all the work by luis vidal + architects enables the new Colón Towers to become the first nearly zero-emissions business tower in Spain, as well as the most sustainable and technologically advanced office building in the capital.

The pillars of the project, for which exhaustive documentation and monitoring has been carried out, are: the well-being of users, the reduction of the carbon footprint, and technology.

Many actions have been carried out in order to achieve this level of excellence, including a 40% increase in natural ventilation, the use of natural light and materials without any volatile components, lighting control by the user through mobile devices, a high-efficiency façade that improves the thermal and acoustic behavior of the building, and landscaped outdoor spaces. In addition to having a versatile auditorium, its sky office with outdoor patio allows visitors to enjoy a spectacular 360º view above the city of Madrid.

The building have four new office floors, despite the fact that the height (117 meters) and buildability of the towers remain the same, as required by the General Directorate of Building Control. Its current surface area is 218,500 sq. ft. The new Colón Towers now become a legacy for future generations and an engine of urban revitalization. The new design was approved by the Madrid City Council’s Commission for the Protection of the Historical-Artistic and Natural Heritage. The new Colón Towers contribute to revitalizing and modernizing the image of an emblematic area of the city.

Only a powerful identity can turn the invisible visible, but architecture can bring a building to life and make it shine. On these pillars, luis vidal + architects set out to transform the offices of Castellana 77. A building that lost its identity and market value over four decades has become a real estate jewel in the financial heart of Madrid. The result is a flexible space with a prominent, efficient identity, which has become the second most expensive square meter in Azca, Madrid’s premium office district.

For this project, with light as the true protagonist, the practice has used a textile material called ETFE in an innovative way, creating a skin that allows for the entrance of light but not heat. A backlit wrapping of hundreds of louvres with different curvatures protects the building from the brightest hours of sunlight while maximizing user comfort and projecting a powerful image. To tame the light without being defeated by it; a 21st-century Icarus designed to beat the sun.

The Palmas Altas technology center has been designed as a benchmark in sustainable architecture, a goal that has been met by obtaining the first LEED Platinum certification in Europe.

This project exceeds the usual features of a business park and becomes an real compact community that organizes around a square. The campus offers spaces that have a strong sense of cohesion, being designed in a way that encourages interaction and collaboration among workers.

Likewise, the scale of the buildings ensures an excellent quality of life for its users by bathing the indoor spaces with natural light and natural ventilation, and placing louvres on the facades to filter the entry of excessive light. Each building connects the spaces vertically on the outside through an atrium that acts as a unifying central courtyard.

The project integrates state-of-the-art environmental technologies, such as photovoltaic panels, a trigeneration plant, hydrogen batteries, and efficient air conditioning and lighting systems. Energy-saving criteria is also applied through all aspects of the design: from the geometry of the building, which is based on compact forms, to the envelope composition of the structure and the distribution and layout of solar-control devices, to the choice of materials.

The result is an innovative construction designed for pedestrian use, which is becoming the standard for the office typology of the future.

The proposal seeks to provide this important area with new spaces for circulation.

The project is based on the creation of a square and a public park, whose shape has the effect of widening and linking the geometry of the different grids to obtain an ordered structure of roads and accommodating new residential buildings.

The high demand for residential buildings is the other great design challenge. Therefore, the layout of the buildings is determined by logical environmental criteria: the amount of sunlight and protection from prevailing winds.

Urban Regeneration and Master Planning Award. MIPIM Future Projects Awards 2009.

The project proposes reconnecting the city and reviving the most disadvantaged areas through intensive land use and mixed-use systems.
The incorporation of a single and continuous boulevard, more than 2,5 miles long and up to 200 feet wide, is proposed, combining elements that will enrich the social and cultural life of the city.

A pedestrian promenade through green spaces and small parks, a bicycle path, an area for new urban facilities, and a corridor to incorporate a new public transport system. A doubly sustainable project in terms of environmental design and economy.

The Anboto Tower, located in the Garellano area in Bilbao, will be the last tower to be completed by the Garellano masterplan proposed by RSHP and luis vidal + architects in 2009. An unprecedented residential tower in Spain with a unique design that will be integrated between the city’s different modern and nineteenth-century urban fabrics. This tower will be the first residential building in the country for both the RSHP practice and for luis vidal + architects.

The tower will have a total height of 114 meters above ground level with 35 floors, making it the tallest residential building in the Basque Country and the second tallest in Bilbao, just behind the 165-meter Iberdrola office tower. The ground, first and second floors form the plinth of the building, with a total area of approximately 53,820 square feet, and will be intended for commercial use. The 322,917 square feet tower will house 32 floors with 2, 3 and 4 bedroom homes with designs that maximize space and take advantage of every inch. However, each owner will be able to choose the finishes and modify the plan, so the results will be 166 unique homes made to measure.

A design for the commercial area will also be pre-established so that the building does not lose its identity and remains with a unique design over time. The design of the Anboto Tower enhances the use of natural light. The East and West façades are formed by curtain walls clad in aluminum in copper colors, present in the city, giving a particular aesthetic to the building due to its glare and reflections.

This residential tower revalues the entire area, providing the city with a unique architecture and image.

Our strategic approach to this project focuses on the hotel’s final user and the key moments of his experience to generate an appropriate atmosphere in each moment, creating calm, without stress, surprising and high-quality spaces. For this hotel experience, we have created an appealing transition between the city and the personal realm, between the trip and the leisure time. We are establishing three critical levels of approach in a zoom-in style.

1. THE LOCATION within the city. Being the location one of the values of the project, in the most exciting, dynamic, vibrant and active area of Madrid.

2. THE ACCESS is conceived as a transition space between the city and the hotel. The challenge is to transform the access from Montera into an exciting area, causing an impact on the customer’s first perception. The surprise effect is guaranteed.

3. THE HOTEL:

• The LOBBY, a space with a different atmosphere where the game of reflections evokes fragments of the city. Two sculptural pieces, the reception desk and the stairs, are this space’s main elements.

• THE COFFEE AREA, located in the basement, is connected to the ground floor through openings in the slab that allow natural light in and a visual connection between floors.

• BEDROOMS, we add value through CUSTOMIZATION. This way, each room will be different, a white canvas that changes color through the lighting.

4. THE TERRACE, Along with the location, with stunning views of the Puerta del Sol, is one of the great values of the hotel.

luis vidal + architects addressed the challenge of developing the interior design of the Arola Restaurant in Madrid in a space designed by the architect Jean Nouvel, B-720 and Alberto Medem, under the lower deck of the auditorium. Located on the ground floor, with views towards the Ronda de Atocha, this establishment is characterized by its spaciousness and for being a meeting point with different kinds of uses.

The proposal of luis vidal + architects is inspired by the diversity of the space, ‘colonizing’ it peacefully through a great variety of volumes, materials, textures and colors carefully chosen in the search for an overall balance. Instead of splitting the space with partitions, the concept of ‘table-bands’ was devised, which would separate uses without breaking the comprehensive view. The table-bands, continuous and shining, act as elements of distribution from a central strip that divides the space into a bar and dining areas. As a whole, the table-bands create interrelated micro-landscapes, connected to each other by non-hierarchical decreases in height, creating an organic, changing and versatile continuity between the furniture and the open space of the restaurant. The material used to produce them (HI-MACS®) was chosen for its durability, transparency and quality.

The lighting concept meets the technical requirements of the restaurateur while preserving the “privacy” of each area of the table-bands. The solution consists of rechargeable wireless lamps, which provide high-quality lighting and greater flexibility of use in harmony with the theme of the entire proposal.

Refurbishment and renovation project for the Abengoa corporate offices in its new headquarters at the Palmas Altas Campus in Seville.

This project seeks to highlight the spatial qualities of the buildings and the whole of the headquarters, characterized by a diaphanous floor and a glass enclosure. In addition to creating a pleasant workspace for the user, it meets the client’s requirements for interaction and the communal life of the workers.

These criteria led us to design an office landscape full of natural light through the openings in the façade. The bright, friendly and tranquil spaces invite an excellent working environment. Open plan interiors are defined by a spatial gradation given by the use assigned to them, thus creating a flexible system that works for all the particular cases that were presented.

One of the most outstanding achievements is that the architectural intentions of the project have been realized thanks to the care taken in the choice of interior finishes, furniture and signage, as well as the suitability and coordination of all the facilities.

With the gentle gesture of a curve, clothed in a delicate metal frame and wrapped around itself in concentric circles, there is a pedestrian bridge linking the Technological Center of Palmas Altas with the urban layout of the center of Seville. Below it, the fast bustle of the SE-30 highway turns into a whisper.

Elements characteristic of engineering projects, such as ramps, pillars and panels, only enrich the proposed landscape of the whole environment from the simplicity of their lines.

The project, designed in partnership with Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners, won first prize in an international design competition. The project aims to create a user-friendly and humane building that provides a pleasurable experience where users can find their way around easily. The building is conceived as a pleasant space and a meeting point for visitors and workers at the Justice Campus in Madrid, departing from the traditional and preconceived image of this kind of facility. The Multipurpose building houses three uses: a commercial area, restaurants and car parks.

It is a building consistent with the planning objectives, responding to the architectural and aesthetic demands of the surroundings, and stands as the main entrance to the precinct. The proposal recovers the visual importance of a space usually associated with uncomfortable experiences and is dedicated to spending as little time in it as possible. A highly functional project to achieve maximum efficiency of parking and that considers both the quality of space and display of shopping areas and restaurants through the optimization of pedestrian flows.

The proposal for the P-7 incorporates numerous recycled or waste materials, ranging from recycled aggregate for the concrete of the structure and recycled glass, to furniture and fittings made of recycled plastics.

MOOD is a new line of tapware designed by luis vidal + architects.

MOOD presents the essence of water. This new iconic design has been created as a fusion between simplicity and emotion. The faucet line is inspired by natural water flow and aims to reduce water consumption. These faucets stand out due to their original geometric lines, which radiate simplicity and integrity, and create an immediate sense of attraction, inviting users to interact with them. The flat spout of the faucet allows a better water flow and keeps the aerator hidden, improving the user experience.

The design takes advantage of the available technology to reduce complexity and to make daily life a little more comfortable, allowing users to enjoy their environment while, at the same time, making a responsible use of it. The digital control of the faucet has two modes: “sleep” (off) presents the product when it is not being used. A second mode, “awake” (on) activates a series of luminous icons, which invite the user to start browsing through the different options in a very intuitive way. The ‘preset’ functions (previously programmed) allow each user to customize the flow rates and temperatures for other uses.

The design has been developed to offer an intuitive, simple, and straightforward use, ensuring that the water usage adjusts to each function. The icons humanize the technical component of the interface, making the use of the faucet very easy.

Bathrooms have undergone few changes since their ‘invention’ in the 19th century. After incorporating the lavatory, they quickly evolved into a space with tiled walls and floors with porcelain toilets.

From this simple definition began a ‘process’ of bathroom design in which architects, or their clients, selected, on the one hand, the ceramic tiles for the walls and floor and, on the other hand, the accessories to be installed on both surfaces. Nowadays, sanitary lines and accessories related to them are selected from a vast range of products, thus creating a ‘pick ’n mix’ approach. Still, nonetheless, the spatial configuration has long remained unchanged.

Our concept revolves around integrating the wall surface and the embedded ceramic elements, the two critical components in the bathroom. We intend to create a small, individual space for each sanitary element: bathtub, sink, and toilet. The ceramic pieces are standard and restrained, while the auxiliary components present enormous flexibility in terms of design and optional bathroom fittings (storage, towel racks, mirrors, etc.). By developing this concept, we have found not just one solution but the key to an infinite range of options.

Therefore, our analysis has focused on the possibility of radically changing the perception and architectural composition of bathrooms. We are principally wondering if we could contribute to reinventing the product by merging the two fields in which Porcelanosa and Noken are experienced.

The mealtime has, since the beginning of humanity, been something almost sacred, a time to be with the family, to share with friends, and also an act of festivity.

The Clover Table revolutionizes the relationship between diners. Its curves bring them closer, improving the experience of dialog and conversation that accompanies meals.

The surface of the Clover Table, almost a mirror, seems to “float”, resting on shortened legs that look like old leather straps that defy the laws of gravity with their sinuous shape. Furthermore, the curved shape of the top allows a modular system, counterbalancing each other with an almost limitless layout.

AA functional chair, adaptable to any environment and made of high-tech materials.

Covered with a resilient, low maintenance cost textile, it has an ergonomic and stackable design.

Designed to furnish both public and residential spaces, with its elegant structure of chrome-plated stainless steel and its oak or upholstered shell, the RS chair stands out due to its subtlety and elegance.

The chair was presented at the Milan Fair (April 2006). Available in the Viccarbe catalogue.