Located close to the convent of San Esteban, the new building houses the  headquarters of the Colegio de Arquitectos (Institute of Architects) of León and its cultural foundation. The building offers views of the cathedral, with its imposing dome and spires. The building’s integration strategy was determined not only by the close presence of several historical landmarks of Salamanca, but also by the uneven geometry of the plot and the discovery of Roman and medieval archaeological remains, which demanded certain adjustments.

To address such varied conditions the building adapts to the conditions in different ways. In the first place, it rises only two floors above ground level by the street, and a third level is more set back in the rear part of the plot, with the aim of adjusting to the scale of the environment and ensuring views of the cathedral. Furthermore, the choice of materials pursues that golden tone that is so characteristic of Salamanca. For this reason the facade onto the street uses large bush-hammered granite pieces, and inside the golden concrete is combined with wood and corten steel.

Lastly, the discovery

of archaeological remains urged to change the project, and to design the area of entrance to the first bay of the building as a bridge with no intermediate supports, thus protecting the archaeological site, which is placed in a double-height open space. This space is separated from the street and the entry courtyard by a corten steel grille and from the walk-through area by a glass sheet, letting passers-by contemplate the strata of the city’s history. 

The building is articulated as a sequence of bays parallel to the street. The thick walls of reinforced concrete complete the structure, the services and equipment. Since aside from housing the headquarters for the local architects and its administration areas the building also accommodates the cultural foundation, the ground floor had to be an open-plan space for meetings and exhibitions. To achieve this, the structure of the upper walls is completed with deep wall beams, eliminating the intermediate pillars on ground floor. This large space is divided into three by a system of large wood panels that can be removed when a larger space is needed. In the third bay, on the first and second floors, several courtyards bring light in and create an interplay of transparencies and reflections between the different office spaces.