SEPE is Spain’s national public employment service. We won the public competition to design a compact architectural intervention consisting of office spaces for this important institution. Although the project is relatively simple, it is located within an existing building. The “site” therefore occupies part of the ground and second floors of a residential block in a recently developed neighborhood of San Sebastián.
Located in the north of Spain, San Sebastián is a vibrant city defined by the meeting of sea and rock, and by a particular condition of light.
Also, it is the city of the two lights of Europe. The first is the dense, atmospheric light of Northern Europe, a deep, material blue, as seen in La Concha Bay and captured in The Comb of the Winds by Eduardo Chillida. The second is the clear, white light of Southern Europe, associated with public life and the use of the street. Together, these contrasting lights define the city’s spatial and cultural identity.
The project seeks to create a space with a strong public character, not through imposed symbolism but through qualities intrinsic to the city’s culture and environment.
The solid blue light of the North of Europe. La Concha Bay, San Sebastian.
Our approach was to unify these different lights, embracing their diversity while establishing a meaningful relationship with the exterior and the surrounding geography. That is, with nature within the city. In this context, light becomes our primary material.
At the core of the project, a central vertical space is filled with the white light of Southern Europe. A system of suspended white panels reflects and diffuses light, bathing the interior with a clean, soft, and transparent luminosity, while increasing the overall amount of natural light.
The perimeter of the intervention enhances the presence of natural light through a blue glass façade supported by a black steel structure. This element evokes the dense, colored light of Northern Europe, producing a heterogeneous and vibrant atmosphere. Perforated wooden panels filter the incoming light while protecting the offices from excessive exposure and external views.
Above, a transparent skylight allows visual continuity through the interior of the block, while also acknowledging the presence of the residential terraces and domestic life on the upper floors.
These two types of light, dense and diffuse, are familiar to those who inhabit the space. They form part of their everyday landscape. At the same time, they contribute to the public character required by the institution, transforming the project into an open and welcoming space for all.
