Conceived as an ecosystem for the IT sector, where companies and individuals can generate synergies, this coworking centre transforms the former headquarters where Bombardier manufactured and repaired train fronts in Alcobendas, Madrid, into a collaborative workspace that does not hide its industrial past. A warehouse dating from the 1980s and spanning more than 3,000 m2, which the architect Carlota Manzano, from the Carlos Manzano Arquitectos studio, has converted into a 4.0, smart, efficient, and sustainable building.
After meetings and activities organised with leaders and users, and considering the company's philosophy, the architects have designed a hybrid space that combines 'solo' areas with others known as 'team' and 'collective’ spaces. This is a place where innovation, comfort and work coexist under agile standards, adapting to its new use without foregoing its original essence.
Original structures, such as the crane or the ladders used by the operators to work on the upper parts of the machines, are combined with new additions, such as the curtain wall that allows natural light to enter, the socialising area, the raised platform that, taking advantage of the sheer height of the building, allows greater a density of people, or the polycarbonate boxes that frame the rooms that require more privacy.
The Actiu furniture stands out from the moment you enter the space, with a waiting area located next to the entrance and equipped with a circular Bend module and two independent poufs that invite you into the space. Dyed in the brand's corporate colours and with a friendly design, the poufs provide extra comfort to a space where, as soon as you enter, you feel like staying.
Inside, the large open-plan main space is divided into different areas where you can work individually or in groups, socialise, concentrate, or meet. Spaces with their own personality but which form part of a whole, where work areas, offices or meeting rooms coexist alongside collaborative and meeting areas.
The operational areas alternate with meeting areas equipped with soft seating, benches and even an original table with ten swings for brainstorming sessions. All of them allow workers to meet, socialise or simply rest, sitting on the sinuous Bend modules or on the more rectangular structure of Longo.
In order to offer its co-workers private areas where they can meet, make presentations, or receive training, part of the space has been designed to be more compartmentalised. This is the case of the meeting rooms, presided over by elegant Arkitek tables, some of which are accompanied by the versatile Noom 50 chairs with a four-spoke base; or those for training, where the same chairs, this time with a four-legged base, are combined with the Trama folding and height-adjustable tables in order to allow for greater versatility and agility of the space.
Another of the most unique spaces is the agile space equipped by Actiu so that it can be quickly redesigned. In it, two mobile Gradas, which serve as seats and incorporate a practical back for storage, are complemented by several poufs and two mobile Caddy 500 supports with a sound-absorbing upholstery that improves acoustics.
Functional furniture has been chosen for the office area, with timeless and light Tabula tables in white and Wing chairs in polypropylene in different colours that add liveliness. Stackable in groups of up to fourteen units, the latter can be stored when not needed, making it easy to change the layout of a space that, like the rest of the coworking space, stands out for its great flexibility and adaptability.
