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Inapal Metal Industrial Unit

Inapal Metal Industrial Unit

 



The industrial unit, which is located in the Autoeuropa industrial complex, is dedicated to the production of metallic components for the automobile industry and is formed by two apparently autonomous volumes with the same dimensions: the first houses the industrial storage, production and shipment sections and incorporates on the outside a large cantilever for loading and unloading, whereas the second volume consists of two floors on which the social and technical areas have been arranged.

The outside space is organised in accordance with the circulation of vehicles and the flows of raw materials and end products.

As well as the conditioning factors of time and cost, the architectonic proposal focuses on spatial standardisation, constructive rationalisation and the use of pre-fabricated materials.

The apparent structural rigidity lends great flexibility to the project, which has been left open, to incorporate contemporary complexity and the unforeseeability of schedules.

The research is concentrated in the "skin" of the building, which is based on the quest for a single coating material (trapezoidal metallic panels), to adapt and standardise to all of the project situations. The material has become the concept and the synthesis of the solution.

The versatility of the material is explored in terms of different applications and directions: standardised panels when it necessary to close, coat and fold; sliced and honeycomb panels when it is necessary for lighting, shade and ventilation, providing the unexpected effects of domesticating and humanising the social areas of the industrial unit.

The reference for the language of the work is the curves of the car.

By Menos é Mais (Less is More) - Francisco Vieira de Campos and Cristina Guedes

(The project has been nominated for the highest prize at the VI Iberoamerican Biennale of Architecture and Urban Planning, BIAU)

Complementary Information:

Construction area
12.418 m²

Specialities: Afaconsult
Outdoor arrangements: Manuel Pedro Melo
Furniture: Uniscala
Consultancy: Engexpor