Banc de Sabadell Atlantic Barcelona Building News, Project Photo, Spanish Design Images

Banco de Sabadell Barcelona Interior

Bank Building in Catalonia design by Josep Lluís Mateo Architect, Spain

post updated 4 May 2024

Awning And Entrance To The Banc Sabadell Atlàntic Tower Block

Date built: 2009

Design: Josep Lluís Mateo

17 Nov 2009

Banco de Sabadell Barcelona Building

Project Memory

A minor intervention in the entrance to an existing building.

We highlight the intervention at three different levels:

a. The flooring is a white sheet that touches the ground at either extreme (as a ramp or as a stairway) and floats over it at the centre.
b. The awning is effectively a large trough that collects rainwater and channels it down to the ground at either end.
c. The finishes of the doorway (a series of mirrors, doormats and glazed surfaces) seek to break down the image of passage into independent photographic stills, highlighting the singularity of the movement: an interchange between exterior and interior.

photos © Beat Marugg

The main actors

Josep Lluís Mateo,
A phantom, a place and a space. September 2009. Banco Sabadell, Torre Diagonal.

Ground-floor lighting for Banc Sabadell by Maurici Ginés

The basic approach of the architecture project and choice of materials was to return to a clear layout of the floor where, in a visually open space, the materials, seen as matter, texture and colour, laid out areas according to different uses or functions. Objectively and subjectively, the materials used bring quality, transparency, reflection and an intelligent composition of space and calm.

The concept of light creates this zoning, highlights the subjective values and communicates the materials-matter, texture and colour-by bringing contrast, balance and a luminosity that is natural, not forced.

The entrance sector is the most contrasting and heterogeneous in its lighting, with spots that generate ordered patches on the floor and ceiling, drawing users inside.

The dark, continuous, high-quality material of the waiting area, along one side, alternates with translucent lighting strips in a crescendo of increasing warmth.

A spherical light suspended at the centre of the great spiral stairway serves to restore the balance of light throughout the space.

The client service sector, marked by a large expanse of slightly sloping false ceiling, a translucent glass triangle, brings texture and artfully natural brightness to the space and the essence of containing a large outdoor space.

Within the architectural project and the intelligent spatial composition, the translucent lighting material, in some cases coloured, acts as a connective element with its different forms and arrangements in the space. Subjectively, the triangle and the sphere, basic forms, generate the balance of lighting throughout the space.

Interview with Miquel Molins, President of Sabadell´s Foundation. Banc de Sabadell, in the exhibition Occasional City. (Transcript)

I knew of José Luis Mateo’s work and from the point of view of the client I was interested in asking him to renovate the architectural image of the Banc de Sabadell, and not just the image but the very concept of the banking space. An architectural project which I think JLM was also keen on since it was the first time he had worked at this micro-architectural level and not on a large scale.

photos © Pedro Pegenaute

We have always understood each other well and I think this is a success.

In the case of the central office of the Banco de Sabadell, the task wasn’t so much about conceptualizing a new space but more about updating an old space; an even more interesting proposition. I think the result is fantastic. It is one of the best areas in the bank. How to reinterpret an existing space, infuse it with modernity and at the same time preserve its character, maintaining its link to tradition. I think it has been an excellent project.

Banc de Sabadell Atlantic – Building Information

Location: Avinguda Diagonal with Carrer Balmes, Barcelona
Project and construction: 2006-07 & 2007-09

Architect: Josep Lluís Mateo
Project and site supervisor: Ismael Heras
MAP Arquitectos team: Mariana Castro, Sara Cardoso, Miriam Moreno
Structure: Agustí Obiol, BOMA
Contractor: G56

Banc de Sabadell Atlantic images / information received 131109

Josep Lluis Mateo

Location: Banco de Sabadell, Barcelona, Spain