The new Red Cross headquarters in Malaga, a newly constructed building located in the vicinity of the medieval city and its modern growth to the north, is an emblematic building capable of bringing together the complex urban personality and character of a city like Malaga.
Project Name: Provincial Office of the Red Cross in Malaga
Studio Name: Endosdedos Arquitectura
Photographs: Fernando Alda Fotografía S.L.
Direction: Calle Salamanca, 31 CP 29013 Málaga
Surface: 3.326,00 m2
Executive director: María Vargas García, Arquitecta Técnica
Engineer: CQD Ingeniería
For architecture to succeed, it must engage in two ways: ensuring that the proposed idea is viable through construction and creating a piece that integrates respectfully into the urban fabric of the city.
As we entered the 21st century, the term “sustainability” became more than just a passing buzzword. To effectively renaturalize our urban spaces, we must develop new and adaptable functionalities specific to each field. This includes creating fluid and versatile areas that can easily adapt to change. Workspaces, such as offices, are also evolving into more open and transparent environments. To achieve this, outdoor workspaces such as courtyards, rooftoops and terraces are being integrated to provide dignified spaces for both Red Cross employees and volunteers, as well as potential users.
While the function of a building should prevail over its form, the integration of the building into its urban environment and location are equally crucial, as can be seen in the case of this particular structure.
A building was not planned to collapse the block and align with the roads, occupying the entire buildability of the plot, as the building and its surroundings were designed from scratch.
The most important aspect is not simply to get to the building, but to enjoy the newly developed park.
The garden-park concept was conceived to maintain the continuity of the pre-existing vegetation. This urban green space ascends the building’s facades, courtyards and terraces before culminating in a landscaped roof design that reflects the city’s geographic setting on a territorial scale. The building’s enclosures mimic plant patterns in both texture and form, which are accentuated by the light from the first floor bas-reliefs and perforated lattices on the upper floors.
In the design and layout of common areas such as lobbies, socializing spaces, coworking rooms, as well as meeting and performance spaces, a deliberate emphasis on movement and visibility is evident. These areas are no longer isolated or enclosed, but are interconnected as communicating vessels through the use of communication hubs and shared meeting rooms. The main staircase is not only a functional element, but also a sculptural element, with an industrial aesthetic that conveys the adaptability and problem-solving capacity of the institution. This design reflects a move away from isolated spaces towards a more interconnected and dynamic environment.
To be more accessible to people, the building must be adaptable and mutable, able to adapt quickly to a changing reality without restrictions.
The longevity and value of a project depends directly on this adaptability. The new headquarters of the Provincial Red Cross of Malaga easily adapts to the changes and ups and downs of reality, requiring ever greater efficiency and versatility for its realization.
