Caja Badajoz HQ Dehesa Landscape: Greenroof Cover and Gardens & Park
Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain
102,483 sf Greenroofs

Greenroofs.com Project of the Week: July 2, 2018

The Caja Badajoz HQ Dehesa Landscape in Extremadura, Spain is located on a sublimely designed sustainable topography, found at both ground level and on some of its roof areas.  The dry Dehesa landscape is a multifunctional, agroforestry system, and cultural landscape.  These designed landscapes feature islands of holm oaks, cork oaks and olive trees are scattered among scrubs and pastures.  The geometric patterns of the landscape design are the survival form of Dehesa land.

I had included the Caja Badajoz HQ in my 2015 Top 10 Hot Trends in Greenroof & Greenwall Design, and had the pleasure of presenting it at CitiesAlive in NYC and meeting its landscape designer, Cristina Jorge Camacho, PhD, who spoke at length about the in-depth research, planning, and careful execution of the project.

The bank’s corporate headquarters is one of my personal favorites for several reasons, and in fact I included it in both my 2018 Top 10 Living Architecture Trends in Dry & Sub-humid Regions presentations earlier this year in Kuwait City and Madrid (Las 10 mejores tendencias de arquitectura viva en regiones secas y subhúmedas).  Everyone loved this project!

As designers, many times we are placed in a situation where we have to inform our clients.  In this case, the Caja Badajoz is a beautiful example of showing owners that greenroofs don’t have to be actually green all the time!  They can be various shades of gray, yellow, and brown, too.

And, the Caja Badajoz is a prime archetype of creating a greenroof in a hot and arid climate – its dry and dusty Dehesa landscape perfectly suits its location!  A 3-zone automatic drip irrigation is set for its different designed ecosystems.

As both an architect and landscape architect, Cristina Jorge Camacho has a unique experience and vision which she brings to her projects.  Visit Cjcpaisaje to see more of her work.

Mini Description & Details

Badajoz, the capital of the Province of Badajoz, Spain, is situated close to the Portuguese border on the left bank of the river Guadiana. Sited next to the Puente Real Bridge, the new 35 million Euro headquarters of the local savings bank Caja Badajoz was designed by Estudio Lamela Architects to create a dialogue with the bridge’s prominent vertical structure and the great width of the river.

A representative Dehesa, or montado, landscape characterized by oaks and the extremely dry and hot climate was desired to reflect the local countryside for both private and public spaces.

Designed by Cristina Jorge Camacho of Cjcpaisaje using systems from ZinCo, the Caja Badajoz HQ Dehesa Landscape: Greenroof Cover and Gardens & Park encompasses an extensive greenroof over a massive plinth, intensive greenroofs over structure, and an at-grade rural park.

The landscape project deals with its analysis, design and management through archipelago design; research focuses on analyzing the: normal scale (humans, animals, plants, machines), micro scale (unicellular beings) and macro scale (thermodynamic parameters). Geometric forms include circles, ovoids, and straight lines such as nodes where lines of infrastructure converge and where activities concentrate.

Utilizing humus earth and a limestone layer, green areas are concentrated into islands of different sizes and scattered all over the roof where the islands are cool spots inside the hot areas.

The open space design in the rural park and in the urban car park is connected with the riverbank; the garden design in the semi-public cultural building base extends across five courtyard patios of different uses including as a cultural center, kindergarten, gymnasium, housing, and garage, and the extensive greenroof design is related to private open space for the 83 meter high, 16-floor office tower.

Section by Studio Lamela Architcts via Plataforma Arquitectura/ArchDaily.

More

The Caja Badajoz’s initial geometry of islands will change into great continents depending on the wind and the final configuration will be as complex and unpredictable as an original rural landscape.

Year: 2012
Owner: Caja Badajoz Bank
Location: Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain
Building Type: Commercial
Type: Extensive & Intensive, Test/Research
System: Single Source Provider
Size: 102483 sq.ft.
Slope: 1-10%
Access: Intensive Greenroofs: Accessible, Open to Public; Extensive Greenroof: Accessible, By Appointment

Designers/Manufacturers of Record:

Landscape Architect & Landscape Designer: Cristina Jorge Camacho, Cjcpaisaje
Architect: Estudio Lamela Architects
Contractor: Joca + Senpa Charcofrío
Greenroof Systems: ZinCo
Architectural Consultant: ALKIMYA

All the Info:

View the Caja Badajoz HQ Dehesa Landscape: Greenroof Cover and Gardens & Park project profile to see ALL of the Photos and Additional Information about this particular project in The International Greenroof & Greenwall Projects Database.

Project of the Week Video Feature

Watch the Caja Badajoz HQ Dehesa Landscape: Greenroof Cover and Gardens & Park Project of the Week Video below or see it on our GreenroofsTV channel on YouTube:

Greenroofs.com Project of the Week 7/02/18 video photo credits: Courtesy of (C) Cjcpaisaje except for: Badajoz desde la Torre de Espantaperros by Alonso de Mendoza – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Atardecer en Badajoz by Gotardo Gonzalez licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license, Torre Caja Badajoz by Feranza – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, and Caja Badajoz, cajon by Jose G. Flores – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, all on Wikimedia Commons.

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Greenroofs.com Publisher & Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summits Host