Variation A is an architectural proposal to accommodate a complex of offices, responding to a climate of high mountains, and which had to be built using metals as main materials. The need to take advantage of the maximum amount of light resulted in a linear typology (maximum surface per volume), which is allowed by the material and finds no impediment from the function (vertical segregation).

The structure is basically a mast, composed of a central body stiffened by exterior tension members. The central body consists of steel tubular columns and I shaped variable section beams linked together by steel space grid diaphragms (slabs). The exterior members are a network of cables and membranes.

 

Due to the extremely high levels of radiation during daytime, the glazed surface would produce a greenhouse effect with undesirable consequences, whilst at night the winds would take heat from the building by thermal conduction. In order to avoid this, the building was wrapped in membranes (teflon coated glass hyperbolic paraboloids), which diffuse and reflect light to the ceilings while acting as a shield against winds. Some specific features to highlight are the continuous tension system supplied by the upper extensible connection, the “skirt” foundation system (6 jointed concrete hyperbolic paraboloids) and the controlled cross ventilation system.