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The project addresses the need to create an ideal space that promotes a healthy and efficient work environment for a manual manufacturing company dedicated primarily to the production of surfboards.

The prime location of this industrial plot on the Basque Country coastline, at the foot of a leafy hillside, coupled with the large dimensions of the single floor required for the factory’s function, necessitate a sensitive implementation that blends into the landscape of the surrounding environment, in an effort to strike a balance between nature, function, and sustainability.

The design features a large base that relates to both the topography and the sea, and serves as a restraining wall against the hill itself, while extending over the green roof. On it are placed certain elements distinguished by their light materiality and geometry, in an echo of the traditional farmhouses and small-scale straw bales that pepper the local hillsides.

This foundation reuses the plot’s soil to create a rammed earth wall, which reinforces the visual and material connection to the natural environment and serves as a nod, in its materiality, to the sea and the natural shapes that form spontaneously in the sand and rocks as a result of the shifting tides.

On the green roof are lightweight elements that function as skylights, allowing fresh air and abundant natural light to flow into the interior, thus reducing the need for artificial illumination. The thermal inertia of the natural materials—the rammed earth wall and the green roof—help regulate the internal temperature and reduce energy consumption. Thus, the main strategy for the building’s energy efficiency is to reduce demand by optimising natural light, ventilation, and inertia, though achieving regulatory comfort levels will require the use of highly efficient heating and cooling systems.

The flexible character of the proposed building with its lofty clearance height allows it to adapt efficiently to the different stages of the production process, facilitating the flow of circulation and materials.