Headquarters & Logistics Desigual

When Desigual decided to build a logistics warehouse for the distribution of its product due to the need to expand its facilities, it commissioned a project to an engineering company (PGI) with experience in this type of facilities.

The proposed building does not differ from other industrial warehouse projects, and could be used for Desigual or any other company engaged in any other activity. Even so, the projected volume could have had a certain aesthetic intention, but this was not the case, seen from any angle the building did not offer an attractive view.

Both because of the unattractiveness of the proposed building and the desire to use the visual impact of this immense volume in its surroundings as an advertisement for the brand, Desigual decided to have the Turull-Sorensen office revise the engineers’ project and make a new proposal -without modifying the volumes or the layout of the storage and distribution spaces.

Basically, the idea is to work on the façades of the main building and the silo where the boxes are distributed and stored, to work on the exterior spaces, and to give character to the office area.
Intervention on the façades of the main building

To give a new image to the two main façades of the building by creating a double skin, which allows us to have a single solution on two opposite façades of very different character. While the enclosure of the north side of the building is quite opaque, the south side is completely open. This is because in the first case the interior space in this area is used for the robotised distribution of the boxes and, in the second case, the interior space immediately next to the façade is used as an office. In one case good lighting is required and in the other it is not.

The double skin consists of maintaining the planned building envelopes, the opaque and the glazed, and passing in front of them a second façade made of individually die-cut steel plates. The idea is to draw an image that identifies with the brand on the sheets by means of die-cutting.

On the office side, this second skin has an additional function, which is to act as a sunscreen. It seems contradictory to think of a completely glazed façade and then “blind” it with the second skin of die-cut sheet metal, but in reality there is no such contradiction. The effect from the inside, from the workspace, when looking outwards, is of a complete view, that of a space without limits. The sunlight enters uniformly, with the same intensity, on the three levels that make up this space. But because of its orientation, if we did not have some element of light control, it would be impossible to work due to an excess of light. With the second skin, the ideal degree of lighting is achieved to be able to work in the office space without creating contrasts of light and shade that would cause glare.

To replace the composition of the other two façades of the building, initially conceived as a flat façade formed by horizontal strips alternating opaque and glazed parts, with a composition in which the alternating opaque and glazed areas are distributed in the form of a checkerboard. A solution which we believe gives the elevation more uniformity both from the outside and from the inside. It is not a question of “translating” the functionality of the interior spaces to the exterior but of thinking about the image of “the box” as a whole.Work on the elevation of the basement floor in the two elevations where it is seen as a plinth. Basically, this level contains the machines linked to the building’s installations (electricity and water). A series of sheet metal doors give rhythm to this elevation.

To integrate the emergency staircases into the composition of the façades in the best possible way, which for reasons of interior distribution were taken outside.

Our proposal for the façades of the silo was not implemented. The idea was to treat the surfaces by means of graphic solutions printed on vinyl. The images were to be linked to the brand, as was the design of the die-cut plates, in a timeless way; only the façade facing the motorway was to be treated as an immense advertising screen using the LED screens as a means of displaying the chosen images.

The connection between the main hall and the silo by means of a bridge, initially planned as an opaque element, was proposed to be made completely transparent. In this way it was much lighter, less present, and clearly showed the interconnection of the two buildings, especially with the vision of the conveyor belt carrying boxes from one side to the other.
As for the proposals made in relation to the interior spaces, these basically consist of organising, distributing and designing the spaces that form part of the office volume. The fundamental decisions are:

To visually communicate the office space with the warehouse. To this end, it was decided to have a window practically along the entire length of the enclosure that separates one space from the other. The workers in the loading and unloading area can enjoy the view of the office space, and the employees in the office area can enjoy the view of the robotised machinery that distributes the boxes in different places.

Breaking the continuity of the floor slabs and creating a triple height space with a glass roof.
This triple space acts as a moat of light that illuminates the innermost areas of the office floors and gives an idea of the size of the volume from the inside.

Avoid sectoring spaces by partitioning. The workspace is one, “Open Space” type. The meeting rooms, printing areas, coffee areas, toilets, etc., are located at the ends of this open-plan space.
In addition to the work mentioned here, work was done on how some of the exterior spaces were to be organised. The entrance plaza to the building was designed using leaf-shaped pieces in individual colours. The visitor parking area and the street running along the main façade from the parking area to a secondary access between the silo and the warehouse.
It is working under LEED Certification guidelines, with a clear commitment to the use of sustainable materials and passive and active design criteria throughout the building.