The Verne Arquitectura project has recently refurbished the Movistar cycling team’s work and meeting spaces that are located inside an industrial warehouse where all the bicycles and fitness machines are kept.
To evoke the dynamics of cycling, the architectural studio has focused on natural materials, natural light and views over the surrounding landscape. The entire space has been restyled to represent the classic values of this professional sport, while also symbolising other themes like the advanced technology these bicycles are equipped with, the craft-like detail with which the fitness machines are tuned and the commitment to sustainability that characterises all the team’s recent activities.
For the client, it was also essential to represent at a formal and visual level what cycling means to everyone. That is to say, the dynamics and curved shapes of the bicycles themselves, which are the same as the winding roads the cyclists climb during races. Verne Arquitectura’s spatial proposal is therefore based on oblique, organic, sinuous lines. More specifically, the central work area is shaped by maple wood walls with carefully rounded corners. Behind these walls are the executive offices and a large meeting room that are connected via glass doors with almost invisible frames. The orientation of the various spaces has been calibrated precisely. The entire central working area and executive offices, therefore, face the outside, and more specifically northwards, so the people inside can enjoy the landscape and the kind of light that is ideal for working. The hall, offices and meeting room, on the other hand, face the inside of the warehouse, through which they also receive natural light as both the meeting room and hall have large windows that allow anyone - especially visitors - to observe all the warehouse activities that include team vehicles, bicycles and mechanics continually entering and exiting.
The focus of the project, the central area, is a calm space thanks to its warm wood and gentle curves. At the same time, though, it is also an active and dynamic environment thanks to the effect of its organic geometry. The wooden surfaces, also, flow down along the staircase to "find" the visitor through a white marble hall. They are designed not only to shape the space and configure the flow of movement along the stairs, but also to be exhibition surfaces for displaying the bicycles that are emblematic of the team’s history. So, from various viewpoints you can see Miguel Indurain’s historic bike and the World Champion Alejandro Valverde’s bicycle too.
No less important is the integration of technical, climate and technological features in the space. These highly complex characteristics are hidden by ingenious mechanisms. The lighting system has been designed and perfected with the same care, but with almost the opposite aim. In fact, it is highly technical, extremely stylish and deliberately on display as it symbolises the hi-tech aspect of the team’s activities. More specifically, the new Blade R recessed collection is the main luminaire located at the heart of this space and in the offices. Various diameters of this luminaire have been chosen, as well as a number of accessories to maintain formal continuity and guarantee a clean architectural style.
- Year: 2020
- Client: Movistar
- Architectural project: VERNE Arquitectos - Victor Larripa
- Lighting project: AM Ingenieros - Juan Aiciondo Echevarria
- Collaborators: Proyecto Luz
- Photographer: Pablo García Esparza.
