Project
Marine Research Laboratory in Vigo

Category 
Best Project of Building or Facility by Student

About the project
The location at the foot of the Vigo estuary and the availability of port space justify the suitability of the area to be allocated to “Campus del Mar”, an initiative led by the University of Vigo which includes the restoration of this old military complex, the “ETEA”, for its transformation into a space for the development of marine research activities.
The project idea arises from the study of an a secondary but really fundamental part of the program: the hatcheries. We try to materialize in these spaces the nexus between nature and science, research and dissemination, scientific and public. We try to create a space where, far from being limited to the professional scientific field, it could be visually and explanatory transferred to children and adults.
The main space of the building consist in a large open laboratory space with a maximum flexibility that allows it to accommodate possible changes in science as well as be reused as a teaching university building with similar uses.

Location
Parque ETEA, Vigo, Galicia, Spain

Project design year
2021

Extra visual materials (photos, videos etc.)
https://www.behance.net/gallery/133461843/Marine-Research-Laboratory-in-Vigo

Applicants and authors of the project
Juan Teixeira Zapata and Álvaro López Areños, students of the master's degree in architecture at the University of Navarra, in Spain. Very focused on architectural design at all levels, from a permanente attention on the construction, structures, and facilities design as well as its maximum adaptation to the environment from a creative, realistic and sustainable perspective.