Located on the Technological Campus of the Universityof the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) in Bilbao, this newbuilding is in-keeping with the remodelling of the UniversityCampus within the “Campus of International ExcellenceProgram”, nominated by the Ministry of Education in 2010in collaboration with the Université de Bordeaux (France).

Due to the university’s request and to its strategic locationwithin the city, it is intended for this new building, whichhouses the Mining, Civil and Industrial TechnicalEngineering Schools, to become an architectonic referencethanks to its image by introducing a modern, quality designin line with the Institution it represents.

For this purpose, apart from a very careful volumetriccomposition which deals with the volume restrictionsimposed by the Development Plan, the logo designed byEduardo Chillida has been included in the façade design,in the perforated steel and golden double skinned one, tobe more precise.

Being a large size and scale building in thecity, with almost 45,000 built sq. meters and10 stories high, the new building sets up adialogue between architecture, its sculpturalvolume and its plastic one, represented bythe UPV/EHU logo, created by EduardoChillida, which was designed with theauthorization of his Foundation.

The exterior skin of goldenperforated plate integratesthe Chillida logo and grantsunity to the whole building,camouflaging its great size.Furthermore, the building,being detached, seemsdivided by the black breachthat separates the twouniversity schools.

Throughout the whole design process, specialemphasis was put in resolving the building asfunctional and flexible a manner as possible. Hence,two longitudinally functional corridors betweensupporting walls have been allocated along the longfaçades. One of them, the northeast facing one,shelters the classrooms and laboratories. The other,facing southwest and with smaller and more controlledopenings, lodges all the offices. In the centre of thebuilding there is a core of communication nuclei,toilets, building services and a patio for lightingpurposes, with orange coloured polycarbonate.

In total, the building has 56 classrooms, 27seminars, 7 study rooms, 238 offices for teachers,9 meeting rooms, 45 teaching laboratories and26 research laboratories apart from areas formanagements, administration and services(auditoriums, board rooms, library, cafeteria, diningrooms, postgraduate classrooms, facilities andoffices for technicians, etc.)

All the building services have been designedtaking energy efficiency into account, and theyhave been engineered so that future maintenanceinvestment is kept to a minimum. Plus, bioclimaticcriteria have been present during their design, aswell as in the architectonic one, thus enhancingenergy saving.

Thus, the use of a rain-water reuse system,sustainable lighting criteria, aero-thermalconsiderations and the installation of lowtemperature boilers will allow for CO2 emissionsto be reduced by almost 900,000 kg per year anda substantial saving in energy costs

César AzcárateArchitectACXT