Expansion of Roche Diagnostics' headquarters in Sant Cugat del Vallès

The Roche complex is located on a 38,800 m² plot, where it is required to complement the capacity of the existing office building and provide the headquarters with new workspaces, as well as quality open spaces in contact with nature for the workers. The proposal includes the construction of two buildings and a landscaping intervention with a large green roof of 3,500 m². The garden that forms the central square replaces a former surface car park creating a large landscaped green space. The landscape as a place to stay and a connector This new landscape, with its abundant vegetation, articulates the accesses and routes of the campus, welcoming users through an immersive experience in nature. Native Mediterranean woodland species have been planted in the natural area, close to a nearby stream, while ornamental species with low water requirements and adapted to the climate have been planted in the area immediately next to the buildings. Water plays a very important role in this new biotope landscape. Tanks on the roof of the car park collect water for later use in the form of irrigation, and the permeable areas manage 100% of the rainfall with sustainable drainage systems. Two ponds together with a network of vegetated ditches and gravel ditches sheet, retain and infiltrate rainfall, enhancing the biodiversity of the designed landscape. The new offices The new office building is resolved in a compact volume of simple and clean geometries, responding to the functional organization of the building, which consists of two public floors that connect with the exterior spaces of the campus and three open-plan office floors. The two vertical circulation cores are located at the ends of the floor plan, organizing the office floors around a central circulation axis. In a strong commitment to sustainable connectivity within the building, the staircases have been designed as healthy spaces that, in addition to complying with regulations, are easy to locate, intuitive and inviting to use. Sustainable envelope The building envelope is governed by the concepts of sustainability, energy efficiency and self-consumption, consisting of a green roof that improves the building's inertia and a double façade. The façade solution consists of a double skin that adapts to each orientation in order to provide good solar protection at any time of the day. The roof is conceived as a green extension in which the land mass, increased insulation and reduced reflectance serve as a thermal regulator of the building. An innovative structure optimizing the use of materials The structure was built using the innovative Holedeck system, a system of unidirectional beams of in-situ reinforced concrete, lightened by means of perforations along their entire length. This solution has meant a material saving in the floor slab of 50% concrete and 29% passive steel compared to a solution based on reinforced concrete slabs. This saving has led to a reduction in CO₂ emissions of 85 kg CO₂/m² (45%) according to the building's life cycle analysis. When considering the entire structure, this reduction is 57% higher.