The new headquarters of the University of Vigo contributed to the recovery of the fishing district by preserving its original structure and applying the latest technological advances in mass timber.

A wooden structure rests on the stone supports, which are the only existing remains, preserving part of the facades and dividing walls of the original fabric. The wood solid wooden box is prefabricated offsite and optimized for multi generational performance. The project is inspired by traditional shipbuilding, incorporating the latest R&D advances, as corresponds to the building´s use.

The choice of material and its construction system was chosen to help blend the building with the local tradition without giving up a certain dose of contemporaneity.

The porticoes and sections of the stone façade are restored on the western front. The arches support the new construction, whose foundation is completed with micro piles along the central area, a stone lab on part of the perimeter, and rock directly at the rear. Before the port infills the terrain was right by the sea, so it is geologically complex. The permitted height is completed with a latticework of laminated timber columns that includes structure and sun protection with the vertically suggested by the regulations and the image of an institutional building. 

The east façade, located between small squares, courtyards, and alleys, is similarly resolved and made lighter by the reduction of solar impact. The planned volume is achieved by rounding off the complex with three roofs, pierced by two skylights that fill the interior with light. The space is flexible and adaptale with spaces for work, meetings, exhibitions, etc, arranged over two levels. Of the old plot arrangement, whose footprint it preserves, the smaller volume houses servicing spaces: listed staircase, restrooms, facilities on the top floor, but also a meeting room on each of the upper floors.  The rest is distributed in the other two volumes, with an institutional area on the main façade of the first floor and classrooms on the second one.

Text description adapted from the original architect's description Office Building Concept by Stora Enso