Gaudi’s Casa Mila chimneys seem to hide in the façade of this Office Building. Its Spanish Modernist qualities are accentuated with the use of fare faced irregular free-form shapes conveying the sense of movement.

©Paulo Lima

©Paulo Lima

©Paulo Lima

©Paulo Lima

©Barbosa & Guimarães

©Barbosa & Guimarães

©Paulo Lima

©Paulo Lima

©Paulo Lima

©Paulo Lima

©Paulo Lima

©Paulo Lima

©Paulo Lima

©Paulo Lima

©Paulo Lima

©Paulo Lima

©Miguel Pimenta

©Paulo Lima

©Paulo Lima

©Paulo Lima

©Paulo Lima

©Miguel Pimenta

©Miguel Pimenta

©Paulo Lima

‘In July 2006, when we were invated to the new building competition, through the media, radio, television and newspapers we could notice the following slogan: ‘VODAFONE LIFE, LIFE IN MOTION.’
This sentence reflects the attitude and philosophy of Vodafone.
We believe that the new building should be faithful to this idea, adopting a dynamic image, conveying the sense of movement, challenging the static.
Seeking inspiration from painting, sculpture, photography, arts which had already faced this dilemma, the office building, designed usually linear, begins to become an irregular body, out of balance, with many faces in motion.
The formalization of this concept is based on the concrete, which through its plasticity, allows to create irregular and free-form shapes, working both as a structural solution and exterior appearence, creating a unique shape, a monolithic building, bringing cohesion and unity to the set.
The technical complexity of the building leads to a periphery structural solution, a shell of concrete, like an egg, reducing internal support to the two stairwells and three central pillars, allowing great versatility in its interior space use.
Functionally, the building has eight floors working three as underground.
On the ground floor, in addition to the auditorium, we have a store facing the Boavista Avenue, the cafeteria and office acess.
In the four upper floors appears the offices working as open-space with an accessible terrace.
In the underground, the floors -3 and -2, are working as car parking facilities and the -1 floor is occupied by technical areas and training rooms.’

ARCHITECT: Barbosa & Guimarães / José António Barbosa & Pedro Lopes Guimarães, Matosinhos, Portugal. PHOTOES: ©Barbosa & Guimarães, ©Miguel Pimenta / architect, ©Paulo Lima / architect. CLIENT: Vodafone. LOCATION: Oporto, Portugal. DESCRIPTION: Offices. STATUS: completed. AREA: 7472 sqm. COLLABORATORS: Ana Campante, Ana Carvalho, Ana Mota, Daniela Teixeira, Eunice Lopes, Filipe Secca, Henrique Dias, Hugo Abreu, Nuno Felgar, José Marques, Miguel Pimento, Pablo Rebelo, Paula Fonseca, Paulo Lima, Raul Andrade, Sara Caruso. STRUCTURE: Afaconsult , Carlos Quinaz. HYDRAULIC: Afaconsult, Marta Peleteiro. ELECTRICAL: rga, Luis Fernandes. MECHANICAL: rga, Pedro Albuquerque. CONSTRUCTION COMPANY: Teixeira Duarte. WORK DIRECTOR: Pedro Coelho. DATE: 2009. No part of this web site may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of Morfae and the copyright owner.