Department Stores at Granollers

Can Serras is a landmark building located on the main shopping street and was the first department store building in the city. Built in the 1960s as a renovation by MBM studio on a 17th-century house. A Fashionable department store where the interior spaces revolved around a central staircase that connected half-level floors, with fully open spaces but without ventilation or natural lighting

Intervention

The intervention aims to recognize the force of the original volume, RENEWING the current use and conditioning for comfort. Three main strategies: maintain the architectural form, improve accessibility, thermal and light comfort and finally achieve a SKIN TREATMENT that evokes the original tectonics. A

New Skin

The cladding system is conceived as a scaly epidermis that covers the entire building with a system of large slats recalling the original material, masking the new architectural holes in the inner dermis. A single trapezoidal-section ceramic piece defines the façade system, able be placed in two directions, thus establishing a controlled play of small shadows, light and textures

Sustainability

Taking full advantage of the existent structure, all new elements are thought as final image of the building. Environmental comfort and good lighting conditions are achieved by new openings in the façades, allowing natural ventilation and oriented to the best views of its surroundings. Low maintenance of the façade is guaranteed by a titanium oxide protection that repels any type of particle. ENERGY EFFICIENCY ‘A’ Energy qualification, minimization of CO2 emissions, reduced energy demand and reduced energy consumption by more than 30% is achieved by using passive systems.