Excerpt: Oropol Industrial Unit by Em Paralelo aims to create a bold, distinct architectural approach between two buildings by utilizing blades for aesthetics, incorporating moments of shadow and controlled light, and also considering thermal concerns. Despite its wood-dominated veneers, the building seeks a symbiosis with the existing structure, transforming into a more neutral interior with a white-painted concrete structure.
Project Description
[Text as submitted by architect] OROPOL SA is a Swiss-owned company engaged in the industrial manufacturing and trading of watchmaking products, namely watch cases, bracelets and watch clasps, an activity that has already contributed and will continue to contribute to the region’s economy, having settled in Castelo de Paiva, in March 2011.
The main aim of this expansion project is to continue increasing production and the number of employees. In this way, it becomes a more autonomous Industrial Unit with more future capabilities. The building is characterized by 2 floors and a technical basement, all of which have different characteristics.
The existing basement floor is dedicated exclusively to production aid equipment that will not undergo any changes. The current ground floor internally has an entrance area with a hall, reception area and respective support spaces: meeting room and sanitary facilities for clients.
The remaining area is organized with a lift room, stairwell with direct access to the outside, work area, floor -1 and access to the second floor. Adjacent to the vertical communications, male and female sanitary facilities to support the work space.
Finally, at the back there is a technical area where the technical equipment was placed.
Therefore, through a covered and closed passage to the east, the same floor will be expanded, with a detached location from the current building by around 8 meters, allowing for outdoor leisure spaces and above all architecturally differentiating both buildings with distinct images.
This floor will also be dedicated to work with the inclusion of CNC machines, an increase in the area dedicated to sanitary facilities will be included to cover new employees, support offices, vertical communications surrounding a new freight elevator that will serve this floor and the new floor to design that will communicate equally with the existing one. At the rear of this expansion there will be an area dedicated to the technical area.
On the current floor, all areas will be maintained, namely, sanitary facilities, meeting room, social facilities, work area where there is polishing and parts washing machines.
Through this floor, as mentioned above, there is a passage to the new expansion through a covered and closed walkway, which will give access to the new building, a space dedicated exclusively to work (polishing machines and washing machines).
This floor is promoted with communications vertical to the lower floor through an interior staircase and freight elevator, sanitary facilities to support employees and finally, located at the back of the building there will be an exterior metal staircase, to comply with fire safety legislation as a form of evacuation in case of emergency.
With the image of the new building, the aim is to create a bolder and more distinct architectural approach between both buildings, yet friendly. This solution, with a more audacious character, with thermal concerns, takes aesthetic advantage of the blades that sometimes create moments of shadow and sometimes create moments of more tenuous and controlled light.
As in the existing building, the predominance of wood is a relevant point and affirms the building’s image, hence the veneers of the new building seek a certain symbiosis with the current one, with the lacquering of the veneers alluding to wood. It is a more neutral building, especially on the interior, in which wood no longer exists and the structure materializes in a concrete structure painted in white.
In terms of exterior arrangements, there was a need for a complete redesign, both in terms of parking and in terms of making use of all possible space in the north and east quadrants. A gabion wall in the form of a terrace will be built across the entire back of the land, partially maintaining a slope as a green area and finally maintaining the existing metal fence on the “crest” of the land as the end of the limits next to the easement path to the adjacent properties.
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