Gerard Arias and Mario Blanco Alba, students from the ESARQ School of Architecture, have won a competition to design the new offices of the telecommunications company Andorra Telecom. The project, titled “The Cloud”, will incorporate the company’s current premises and the old fire station on Avinguda Meritxell in Andorra La Vella.
The winning project, “The Cloud”, is a 14-storey building featuring a glass façade and an open-air ground floor. On the fourth floor, commercial and cultural spaces, the Andorra Telecom offices, and restaurant and leisure facilities will be organized around a large atrium. The plan involves covering the entire main building with a glass structure. The design reflects Andorra Telecom’s status as the country’s pioneering telecommunications company, a position emphasized by the building’s high-tech appearance. It will feature a total of 11,200 square metres of floor space and the public spaces will provide a link between Avinguda Meritxell, Prada Ramon and the Fener neighbourhood.
Fourteen proposals were submitted in the design competition won by Arias-Blanco and, according to the judges, the overall quality was excellent. The members of the judging panel, which included representatives from Andorra Telecom, the government of Andorra, Andorra La Vella City Council, the Architects’ Association of Andorra and Andorra Chamber of Commerce, were able to reach a consensus on the winning project. Eight different criteria were considered, including cost, sustainability and maintenance.
The project is subject to review by the future government and Andorra Telecom’s board of directors, but the tender process for the construction contract could start in late 2015, with the building becoming a reality by mid-2018.
