The project “Mugarik Gabe”, by the Portuguese architectural firm Carvalho Araújo has won the international architecture competition organised by the Basque Culinary Centre for designing the sites of EDA Drinks & Wine Campus in Vitoria-Gasteiz and Laguardia.
The project was selected for its uniqueness and its seamless integration and interaction with the environment in both locations, as well as within Basque Culinary Centre ecosystem.
After recognizing the quality and high level of the proposals submitted, an exhaustive analysis led the jury to choose ‘Mugarik Gabe’, which offers two singular architectural designs that will embody the mission of EDA Drinks & Wine Campus to drive economic and social development through wine and drinks, and to position the territory as a leader internationally.
Selected for its commitment to landscape integration in both urban and rural environments, the architectural proposal highlights the organisation of the activity program, its functionality, and flexibility, in accordance with the project’s needs.
The configuration of the access points and the distribution of the different areas by floors and connecting spaces address the importance of uniting and organising the various flows, allowing for interaction between the activities carried out.
“MUGARIK GABE”: “a vision without borders”
The “Mugarik Gabe” (“Without Borders”) project presents two intrinsically related buildings that blend into their respective environments without defined boundaries.
Each building responds to its unique context and conditions while sharing a common strategy: creating spaces to attract talent, offer specialised education, and develop research lines aimed at knowledge transfer to the sector, all with an international perspective and an integrated vision.
Both designs prioritise collective spaces as a naturally arising element in the buildings. The proposed design for Laguardia is based upon and draws on an extensive natural setting, while the plan for Vitoria-Gasteiz defines and opens up to its local environment.
The canopy defines the approach, adapting to the context and creating an identify, with this being the essence of the project, in addition to incorporating social elements such as streets, plazas and paths, referencing public spaces of cities or landscapes.
The colonnades that feature in both designs are created from a delicate transition, as with the external enclosure itself, enabling outside spaces to connect, interweaving beneath the canopies.
Commitment to Innovation and Sustainability
The EDA Drinks & Wine Campus sites will not only be places of advanced study but also icons of innovation and sustainability. The architecture prioritises energy efficiency, using passive elements to minimise energy demands and CO2 impact.
Advanced technologies in green roofing will integrate rainwater management, temperature regulation, and optimised energy performance.
On the technical side, the buildings will feature the latest technologies in green roofs, becoming multifunctional support systems for the building by integrating rainwater collection.
Additionally, the project seeks to optimise lighting through efficient design and natural use of sunlight and will benefit from various solutions to avoid overloading the “construction ecosystem”. Source by Carvalho Araújo.