The firms MGM Morales de Giles Arquitectos and Coll-Leclerc Arquitectos have together as a team won the competition to build the new Faculty of Medicine of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), on its Belleterra campus.

It is strategically aligned with the existing pine grove, respecting the vegetation while using the topography of the site to achieve an efficient implantation of the building. This arrangement gives rise to an upper terrace that provides good vistas of the Collserola and Montserrat mountain ranges while ensuring optimal natural lighting and ventilation indoors.

The design is organized around a central band that connects all the levels of the building. This atrium-courtyard, as it is called, is not only a hub for academic and social interaction; it also brigs in daylight through a skylight-decked roof.

At ground level are seminar facilities, classrooms, and administrative zones, while the school departments are distributed in different upper levels, the better to enhance overall functionality. The underground levels are taken up by a parking garage, logistical areas, and the medical school’s animal facility.

Flexibility has been a key criterion in the design of the building, and the result is a structure of flat trays with an optimized modular scheme of pillars (every 7.5 and 15 meters), making it easy to take in different additional program bands to accommodate future requirements.