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Rioglass Solar Production Plant

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Rioglass Solar Production Plant

This production factory is located in Pola de Lena, in Asturias, northern Spain. The landscape of the Atlantic side of Spain is totally different from the rest of the country: it is dominated by the color green. The town of Pola de Lena is the gateway to Asturias when coming from the Castilian meseta. The sudden contrast between the yellow, arid high plains of Castille and the green opulence of the Asturian vegetation is astonishing. One of the main motivations of the project was to transmit this sensation, trying to integrate the factory within the landscape. Production plants have to be cost-effective. Everybody agrees on building something nice but, of course, at the same cost as a conventional factory. On the other hand, design is constrained by the production process and the habits of the workers. The building we proposed is in a certain way a variation of the traditional factory: On the lower part of the façade we have used concrete panel, the traditional and preferred material for its strength and resistance, however we break from the traditional with a modified “skyline`. On the upper part we have substituted the usual sandwich panel for glass, creating a contrast between the roughness of the concrete and the smoothness of the glass. In order to reduce costs, the glass areas are made with steel frames directly manufactured in the workshop, with dimensions chosen to save prime material, and facilitate transportation and mounting. The result has been a different building that still falls within the budget. The glass panels are made from silk printed tempered glass, using double glazing in office areas and single glazing in factory areas. The colors have been chosen in harmony with the colors of the surrounding landscape and taking into account seasonal color changes. Contrary to conventional factory buildings, where there is a defined hierarchy between offices and production area, our building is conceived as a whole, and the office area is fully integrated. In a certain manner there is no main entrance. In fact, the office area is relatively small and is dedicated to production personnel only. The company’s administration center is housed in a separate complex 5km away.

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