International reference architectural studies to compete in designing EDA Drinks & Wine Campus locations
Carvalho Araújo, Barozzi Veiga and Orza Paisajismo, and Zaha Hadid and Gonzalez Cavia y Cabrera are the architecture firms that make up the preselection competing to design the sites of EDA Drink & Wine Campus in Vitoria-Gasteiz and Laguardia. These are internationally renowned studios. In the next phase, the selected firms will have two months to present a project that meets the needs of EDA, which include integration into the environment, sustainability, versatility, uniqueness, and functionality.
The space where the different activities will take place will have to symbolize the essence of the project. In this sense, two unique buildings will be designed and constructed to become metaphors for EDA and promote its promotion.
EDA Drinks & Wine Campus sites will not only be places of advanced study and research, but also icons of innovation and sustainability. In the case of Laguardia, where activities related to the world of wine will mainly take place, the 2,500 m2 building will be located in a space near the "Casa del Vino," on a plot of 3,900 m2. In Vitoria-Gasteiz, where the activity will revolve around other beverages, the EDA headquarters will be a 4,000 m2 building, located on a plot of 8,610 m2, situated in the Lakua neighborhood, next to the Basque Government.
THREE INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED FINALISTS
The jury analyzed the 31 received applications, selecting 3 that have moved on to the next phase of the bidding process. The selected participants are:
CARVALHO ARAÚJO
Based in Braga (Portugal) and Sao Paulo (Brazil), Carvalho Araujo studio is dedicated to seeking and reflecting on various ways of approaching architecture, creative direction, and design, with the aim of reconciling design practice with a more strategic outlook. Their projects are characterized by the elegance of form, quality, and a sober, rational, and poetic attitude that maximizes respect for proportions and materials. For them, design is not a reason for exhibitionism but a rational and poetic act.
Both in architecture and design, they value dynamic uses and interaction with the environment. The studio has a multidisciplinary team composed of architects and product, communication, and image designers in order to present comprehensive solutions. Among their projects, buildings like the De Lemos Restaurant (2012), located in Passos de Silgueros (Portugal), stand out.
BAROZZI VEIGA and ORZA PAISAJISMO
Both studios have jointly submitted an application, presenting relevant accredited references of projects carried out for the construction of new buildings or the rehabilitation of buildings for new uses aimed at the development of innovation.
In the case of the Catalan studio Barozzi Veiga, founded in 2004 by Fabrizio Barozzi and Alberto Veiga, the accumulated experience over the years in collaboration with architects of renowned prestige has allowed them to start an independent professional journey with a high level of demand where research plays a leading role. In addition, the studio has been awarded numerous national and international prizes and distinctions. Their work mainly includes cultural and educational buildings, characterized by the search for solutions rooted in the environment, architectures that are perceived over time, and for their emotional content. Concepts and ideas capable of creating particular atmospheres, architecturally clear and expressive, capable of making sense by themselves. Among their proposals, buildings like the cultural center located in Zurich, Tanzhaus, stand out.
On the other hand, ORZA creates solutions adapted to the place and based on creative spirit, communication with the client, and technical experience. This Galician landscaping studio is inspired by nature and its power of adaptation, generating simple and elegant solutions. Their work is characterized by flexibility in design, functionality that enhances the everyday experience and quality of life for users, and rigor for the design to work over time, evolve towards the anticipated, and be sustainable in its conservation.
It is a landscape architecture studio, focused on design and construction management, which creates solutions adapted to the place and based on creative spirit, communication with the client, and technical experience.
ZAHA HADID LIMITED ARCHITECTS and GONZÁLEZ CAVIA Y CABRERA ARCHITECTURE URBANISM AND LANDSCAPE
The joint participation of Zaha and Gonzalez Cavia y Cabrera has offered recognizable references in the field of experimentation, research, technological development, and internationally recognized teaching, especially valuing the singularity of their proposals as well as their ability to materialize them.
Zaha Hadid Architects is a British architecture and design firm founded by Zaha Hadid, whose main office is located in London. Architect Zaha Hadid sought to break the boundaries of architecture, connecting buildings and cities, and opening doors to more expressive forms of construction, and was the first architect to win the Pritzker Prize (2004). Currently, the studio is globally known for spectacular proposals such as the neo-futuristic cultural center built on Heydar Aliyev Avenue, in the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku.
On the other hand, from Bizkaia, G&C architects have been covering the fields of architecture, urban planning, and landscape for more than 20 years through a common project formed by professionals with different profiles. The quality of the work, the service to the clients, and the concern for design have been essential factors in their professional development, always prioritizing accessibility, sustainability, landscape, and urban design, present in their various works.
International architecture competition and selection criteria
With the aim of selecting the best proposal that provides solutions of excellence from a sustainable, functional, technological, environmental, and aesthetic point of view for the design of EDA, the Basque Culinary Center published an international architecture competition in January 2024. The purpose of this competition is to select an architectural proposal that responds to the unique vision of the initiative as well as the need to become reference spaces.
The preselection of the finalist candidates has been made in accordance with accredited references of projects carried out for the construction of new buildings or the rehabilitation of buildings for new uses aimed at the development of innovation, concentrating spaces for experimentation, research, technological development, and teaching, with sustainability and landscaping as one of the key values.
In this first phase of the competition, the three finalist candidates have been chosen by the jury based on the criteria defined in the competition rules. The future EDA buildings must provide the best solution and interact with the environment to improve their accessibility and communication in relation to the social, cultural, and economic flows of each location.
EDA will shape an open and unique space that acts as an element of attraction for talent, entrepreneurship, research, and innovation. Sustainability will be one of the main values and criteria that the two campuses must meet, which, in addition, must be integrated into the urban and natural landscape, in each case, organically and, above all, participatory with the immediate environment.
The three finalist studios must present an architectural proposal at the preliminary project level within two months under a motto, to ensure impartiality in their selection and prevent the traceability of authorship. The jury will analyze the proposals presented, scoring based on the mentioned criteria visible in the published rules, and select a winning proposal and two finalists, which will receive an Honorable Mention.