Hortensia Herrero Foundation Offices
The strong presence of natural light and multiple work environments provide the flexibility needed for day-to-day office use.
Client
The objective of the Hortensia Herrero Foundation is to promote interest, knowledge and sensitivity for art and culture through projects created in the Valencian Community by artists from all over the world.
Challenge
Transform an old building annexed to the Valeriola Palace into the new offices of the Hortensia Herrero Foundation, with an area of 500 square meters divided into two floors.
STRATEGY
These new offices, located in a building annexed to the museum, have a surface area of approximately 500 square meters divided into two floors. The upper floor has work spaces, meeting areas and a concentration room. The lower floor consists of an open work space as well as storage, maintenance and management rooms.
One of the challenges of the project has been to respond to the new needs of these offices by rehabilitating a historic building that was very deteriorated and at the same time contained several elements of heritage value that needed to be preserved.
In this sense, the original wooden carpentry has been restored and the Nolla floors have been maintained, which appear in different parts of the project, adding value to this characteristic element of Valencia’s architectural heritage.
An important effort has been made to conserve and highlight important decorative pictorial elements such as the ornamental painting that reproduces the myth of Gaia in the main hall which, despite the various renovations it has undergone, has remained in a good state of conservation.
SOLUTION
The technological component has also been important to be able to respond to the activity to be developed both in the workstations and in the different meeting rooms.
Air conditioning, home automation, lighting, audiovisuals… are some of the facilities that have been necessary to integrate into the design to give a new life to the premises, but without stealing the limelight from the existing spaces and decorative elements.
As for the materiality, the use of oak wood in the original exterior carpentry stands out, and has infected the design of the interior spaces, giving nobility to the storage areas and shelves.
The process of transforming these spaces into offices has been carried out with the intention of creating comfortable work areas for users, with a strong presence of natural light and multiple work environments that provide the necessary flexibility for the daily life of the Hortensia Herrero Art Center.
