COGA Colón - Destudio

COGA Colón (Valencia)

The project for the new headquarters of the Official Association of Administrative Managers of Valencia (COGA), located on the well-known Colón Street, presented the problem of a large space with very low ceilings, creating a feeling of confinement accentuated by the lack of natural light, which came only from two small rear courtyards.

Added to this architectural problem to be solved was a complex office program, where the internal operations of the few employees of the Association had to coexist with the occasional meetings of members and their clients that take place there, as well as occasional training courses and events in an auditorium.

The solution to all of the above is to separate the different uses from each other and create a large central lobby with easy access to all of them, which will be the main space of the project.

Therefore, the office area is located on the main façade, the auditorium at the rear next to the courtyards, and the service areas (kitchen, toilets, meeting rooms, etc.) on the sides.

The large central lobby is designed as a fluid and flexible space, where large islands of color accommodate different uses for relaxed meetings between members and their clients, as if it were a hotel lobby.

These islands of color sometimes have armchairs and sofas, other times meeting tables or even high café tables.
All of them are visually and acoustically isolated by curtains that allow these islands to be separated or connected to each other.

While the rest of the office is decorated in neutral tones, these islands are finished in monochrome tones that flood and mark the space.

The reception desk is located between the lobby and the work area, with rounded shapes to accentuate its function as a pivot point between these spaces.

At the back, a foyer leading to the auditorium is created, marking a connecting space between the two courtyards of the premises.

The auditorium can be separated from the rest of the venue by a large automatic acoustic curtain, and is also finished in the same color to harmonize the acoustic solutions in wood, PET, and other materials.