Madrid-based firm herreros arquitectos has just shared images with us of their design for a satellite control center and headquarters. a lattice-skinned cylindrical structure encloses the main offices of hispasat, a company involved in the management of a fleet of communications satellites; a programmatic quality expressed in the delicate geometries of the laquered aluminum plates. the circular-plan building dates from the 1970's and is given a protective update and new proportions with the rhomboidal metal lace envelope that rises clear above the cornice of the structure.
The latticework cladding is both poetic and pragmatic-- a range of subtly colored finishes allows the building to reflect and collect the warm light of the setting sun as well as the shapes of the clouds and sky, while the varying densities of the pattern provide an optimal shading device that reframes views of the landscape. the one meter offset of the dynamic skin additionally ensures ventilated interiors and allows the creation of cantilevered exterior walkways. interiors are a pointed composition of variously opaque planes that orchestrate circulation. modular flooring, suspended ceilings, polyvinyl resin spacers and aluminum partition walls complete a light-filled office that is both continuous and appropriately private.