"Working with such good materials is a great way to go."
Área 3 and Elecnor Group refurbished these offices in the Iberdrola Tower in Bilbao using oak panelling for its hard-wearing qualities.
"One of the challenges was that the material had to age well: the office furniture in general and the cabinets are perfect after several years in place."
Karmele Montejano de Terán, Head of Projects and Interior Design at Elecnor.
Offices overlooking the Bilbao estuary are a great setting to enhance productivity. If we add its location in an iconic building like the Iberdrola Tower, the project becomes a true landmark. This Elecnor workspace is on the top floor of this pointed, rhomboid-shaped building. "We had to adapt to all the curves, since there were no right angles, so we knew that we were faced by a considerable challenge," describes Karmele Montajeno de Terán, Head of Projects and Interior Design at Elecnor.
How has he given a traditional building the necessary uniqueness? With the use of technical wood. “It is a material that, when used in interiors, offers structural and decorative solutions that can be easily adapted (and combined),” says Estal.
The refurbishment consisted of increasing the habitable and useful space by dealing with certain budget and style limitations (the project typology was narrow but tall, east-west facing and framed as a modernist house). This objective was achieved with a loft that is arranged across the two different sides, which you can climb up to via a sort of spiral staircase, leaving a central gap that provides greater luminosity to the whole house.
Another problem to be solved was the choice of products, because the client was concerned that over time the finish might fade, because the building gets a lot of sun.
"Working with such good materials is a safe choice ," explains Montajeno de Terán. "We used natural oak veneer for the way it ages. The office furniture in general and the cabinets are perfect several years after being installed," he says.
The choice was coupled with skill, as Montajeno de Terán recommended the workshops we organize at FINSA to learn how our wood is worked. "It is a guarantee, because the business is always innovating and offers good technical performance. They are always in touch to keep us up to date with the latest news," he says.