He central building of Santander Argentina It is located at the intersection of Juan de Garay and Paseo Colón avenues in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of San Telmo. It is an architectural work of 53,000 m2 with 11 floors4 basements, central patio with garden, auditorium and meeting rooms, among others. The facilities are characterized by the innovationthe technology and a marked criterion of sustainability.
Solar panels, terraces with native plants, rainwater recovery, separation of waste at source and treatment of organic waste for composting are some examples of this. The building has the certifications LEED Gold, ISO 14,001, ISO 50,001 and Green Seal.
He Real Estate team of Santander Argentina, led by the architect Laura Yacachurytook on this year the challenge of transform the dining room spacelocated on the 11th floor of the building. This 2,500 m2 plant is a space with great circulation and functionality in the daily lives of all the people who carry out their tasks on the site.
There is the general dining room, with capacity for more than 400 peoplemeeting rooms and a sector for recreation. The floor is framed by large enclosures that provide great light to the environment, as well as spectacular views of the Río de la Plata, Lezama Park and the building’s internal garden.
“The project of comprehensive transformation “This floor sought to generate a new sensory, functional and gastronomic experience for people,” says Yacachury.
It includes a leisure and recreation sector.included meeting and coworking sectors that would allow meetings in a relaxed environment, complementing its functionality with the incorporation of new technology, such as videoconferencing screens. were added you are to generate more relaxed, comfortable, versatile meeting points with greater warmth.
Furthermore, a recreation and leisure sector where people can play ping pong, foosball and video games; and in which different social actions such as entrepreneur fairs are also promoted. Team meetings are also held in a different location.
Areas with different colors refer to three National Parks: Talampaya, Perito Moreno and Iguazú.As for the gastronomic experience, it includes a wide offer for the people who work in the building. A was incorporated new Coffee Point space which is added to the current Work Caféwhich offers specialty coffee and pastries.
“The objective was resignify already existing spaces, as well as create new spaces for interaction, leisure and collaboration. This enhancement of the environment allowed us to promote and optimize the space, expanding its use throughout the day compared to its previous use predominantly during lunch hours,” continues the architect.
In order to exalt the richness of landscapes and biodiversity of Argentinaspaces were defined with names of national parks: Talampaya, Expert Brown and Iguazu.
New meeting spaces were added.Thus, the landscapes, flora and fauna of each place were in the inspiration for choosing color palettes, materials, graphics, textures and patterns of partitions, carpets and furniture, generating in people the feeling of being in different places.
As a conceptual framework for this project, biophilia was incorporated to bring nature closer to the built environment, generating a harmonious and virtuous coexistence that enhances well-being, productivity and creativity.
A key point in this redesign was the integration of native plants and natural trees in the different spaces to allow direct contact between people and nature, generating areas that stimulate and energize.
A new Coffee Point space was added to the Work Café.Given that more than 500 people visit this sector every day, one of the pillars of the project was acoustic conditioning through the incorporation of sound-absorbing materials.
Added a “tunnel” as a multisensory, sustainable and colorful transition passage, made with felt panels with undulating and organic edges that connect the different biomes, creating a feeling of travel or change of atmosphere.
“All this work was achieved with the collaboration of a comprehensive team. For us, it is a great motivation to generate better experiences for all of us who inhabit the building. we want help by creating spaces that promote greater harmony between work life and personal life”concludes Yacachury.
The general dining room has capacity for more than 400 people.Technical sheet
Location. By Juan de Garay 151, CABA Surface. 2500 m2 Project management. Santander Argentina Project team. Santander Argentina + Estudio Urgell – Penedo – Urgell (UPU)
Collaborators. Fernando González, Laura Yacachury, Verónica Alvarez, Diana Gonzalez Triviño, Julián Antoniades, Luciana Sacchi, Ignacio Rived, Julia Cardozo, Guillermo Barbosa, Iván Galarza, Javier Gruñeyro, Mariano Almirón, Stella Maris Rodriguez (Santander Argentina) / Juan Urgell, Andrea López , Gustavo Vago, Tamara Orman,