Málaga, Spain

The headquarters and auditorium for the University of Málaga, designed and created by alcolea+tárrago, Roberto Ercilla Arquitectura, and landscape architects Local 4 Arquitectura del Paisatge, aims to be essential in its figuration, pointing to elemental architecture types, and with a timeless and abstract expression.

The headquarters and auditorium buildings for the University of Málaga have recently been awarded a 2022 International Architecture Awards Honorable Mention by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.

The buildings are located at the Teatinos campus, west of the city of Málaga in Spain.

They host the presidency of the University among several other administrative and representative services, which have been scattered throughout the city until now.

The project also includes an additional 800-seat Auditorium–the largest in the city of Málaga–a botanical garden, and an outside theatre, all aiming to create a new center in a brand-new campus.

The two volumes define a very representative character while establishing a free dialog in a densely vegetated park.

Both volumes are mostly built with a single material–local white marble–with minimum industrial processing and energy usage and following a strict modulation, to allow cutouts and waste to be fully re-utilized in different parts of the building.

The main building is defined by inhabiting the space created around two extensively vegetated patios/courtyards, which include local species that will provide a semi-private and fresh oasis, as well as control the temperature and humidity.

The courtyards become a new icon for the University.

The thick perimeter of the building includes all secondary spaces–stairs, elevators, restrooms, storage, and meeting rooms–allowing the rest of the plan to be fully open and flexible while looking directly at the courtyards without further interruptions.

Deep perspectives accentuate the horizontality, creating an open and free plan for workspaces with great flexibility and capacity for transformation.

The Auditorium encapsulates a wooden box with strategic openings to the distant views as well as to the surrounding park.

It is embedded gently into the topography to minimize its impact and save energy.

The main vestibule reads as a natural extension of the exterior spaces.

A pergola connects the auditorium hall with the Government building, defining an ambiguous and fully shaded exterior to become the main public space during warm seasons.

The path network in the park adapts naturally to the original topography and connects the different buildings while navigating through a rich garden of native and Mediterranean species.

Trees are grouped accordingly to water management to minimize maintenance while creating spots of shade and calm throughout the campus.

Additional species are planted to improve the natural regeneration of the current soil and to make the park sustainable on a long-term basis.

Project: Headquarters and Auditorium for the University of Málaga
Architects: alcolea+tárrago
Design Team: Javier Oyanarte, Rubén Santos, Vanesa Otaduy, Javier Lafita, and Fernando Iraburu
Associate Architects: Roberto Ercilla Arquitectura
Landscape Architects: Local 4 Arquitectura del Paisatge
Structural Engineers: Calesa Estructuras y Proyectos SLP.
General Contractor: UTE Sando- Conacon
Client: Universidad de Málaga
Photographers: Javier Callejas