JRC

The project for the new headquarters of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) on Isla de la Cartuja is conceived as a piece of architecture that seems to float above a large garden. Its implementation responds to the desire to integrate into the urban fabric and dialogue with its immediate surroundings - the Seville Tower, the WTC building and Magallanes Park -, becoming a new node of connection between the Cartuja Monastery and the city.

From an urban vision, the proposal seeks to extend the public space by means of setbacks that prolong pedestrian routes and open up new perspectives towards the river. The occupation of the site is optimised by reserving two thirds of the surface area for the first phase of the building and leaving the rest free for possible future extensions. The north-south orientation takes advantage of both natural light and the prevailing winds from the Guadalquivir, while the existing topography is transformed into a continuous green carpet that unifies landscape and architecture, allowing the building to emerge lightly from the terrain.
The complex is organised around a large atrium opening onto the lower garden, the spatial and climatic heart of the building. A programme is distributed around it on three levels: a ground floor with communal uses, two upper floors housing twelve interconnected work clusters and a roof crowned by a large canopy. The latter acts as a solar filter and supports 2,500 m² of photovoltaic panels, making the building energy self-sufficient. The interior courtyards and voids favour natural lighting, cross ventilation and visual relationships, while the terraces and vegetation on the façade extend the garden experience into the interior, generating a friendly and healthy atmosphere.
With a clear sustainable vocation, the project adopts an advanced bioclimatic strategy that aims to achieve NZEB (Nearly Zero Energy Building) status. Its "box-in-box" system reduces air-conditioned spaces and creates naturally ventilated intermediate zones. Cross ventilation, light and presence sensors, and the use of the thermal inertia of the floor slab passively regulate indoor comfort. The low-maintenance green roofs reduce the heat island and contribute to thermal equilibrium, while the installed photovoltaic energy covers a large part of the residual energy demand. The whole complex adapts naturally to the seasons, applying differentiated strategies for summer and winter without relying excessively on mechanical systems.
The landscape is conceived as an extension of the building. The terrain is modelled on a landscaped plane at -3.5 metres, on which the architecture seems to levitate. A modular ceramic mesh stabilises the slopes, drains the soil and articulates different uses: pedestrian routes, cycle paths, rest areas and spaces for events. In the area reserved for a future extension, a productive garden or temporary forest is planned with native species - poplars, jacarandas, ficus, grevilleas and bougainvilleas - which, in addition to generating shade and biodiversity, offsets the carbon footprint of the construction process.
The result is a building that fuses innovation, sustainability and landscape, conceived as a new ecosystem for research and coexistence in the heart of Seville.