The challenge

Creating the new headquarters of Cotec Foundation –a leading non-profit organisation fostering innovation for the development of the economy and society in Spain– was a real challenge. Besides the need of moving an entire team from a traditional and quiet quarter to a 2-floor commercial building with direct access to one of the busiest roads of Madrid; the new design had to include a multipurpose adaptable space supporting the new working dynamics and the diverse needs of their stakeholders.

The outcome

A contemporary, accessible and versatile space embracing the vision and values of COTEC. Working alongside the client, we developed a flexible and inclusive proposal that promotes internal collaboration, speeds up and enhances horizontal work dynamics and is fully configurable according to the different types of activities and events that may take place inside. Its open and transparent design at street level also invites external participation, managing to strengthen the links between this foundation and local citizens and fully respond to its vocation of service.

Co-creating alongside the COTEC team, we envisioned the new headquarters as a place inclusive enough to satisfy a wide range of uses, with spaces for collaborative work activities and with multipurpose, multimedia rooms encouraging face-to-face activities while generating new hybrid and interactive contents and formats.

The project integrates two very different uses and spaces both in prominence and lighting: a ground floor for offices and a basement for events. Like a camera obscura, these two floors activate contrasting functions, alternating the visible with the invisible, light with darkness. While the ground floor, open and visible, projects and draws on the outdoor light and dialogue to encourage collaborative work; the “hidden” basement floor is purely social, designed to give visibility to the engine of this foundation through the host of events, training sessions and face-to-face or online workshops.

Conceived as an easily configurable set with acoustic and multimedia features, the social area invites exchange and to experimentation. This scenario not only helps strengthen relations with members and allies and to develop new channels and modalities of multilateral participation, but also diversifies the organisation’s sources of income without distorting its operation.

The working area at street level becomes a speaker that makes visible the transparency of this institution. Through a large glass showcase, this inspiring environment naturally attracts the curiosity and attention of passers-by, inviting them to witness what is happening inside and calling out for new ideas and proposals.