09-03-2018

A new design for the Instituto Cervantes of London by Binom Architects

Binom Architects,

Ioana Marinescu,

London,

Institutions, Libraries,

Refurbishment,

The designers from Binom Architects redesigned the new Instituto Cervantes in London, inside a Neo-Georgian building dating from the 1950s.



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A new design for the Instituto Cervantes of London by Binom Architects The designers from Binom Architects redesigned the new Instituto Cervantes in London, inside a Neo-Georgian building dating from the 1950s. A sequence of interconnected rooms host event spaces and, of course, the great library of the building of the Spanish cultural institute in the British capital.


Streamlined spaces, rich of light and without clear separations characterise the new Instituto Cervantes of London, that moved from Eaton Square, in Belgravia, to Devereux Court, a location that is easy to reach by public transport, not far from the Temple tube station, and a few steps away from the Strand.
The renovation was performed by the Binom Architects, studio of London, funded in 2010 by architects Marta Granda Nistal and Gonzalo Coello de Portugal, whose work has always paid great attention to sustainability aspects including, of course, the well-being of the users and their interaction with the architecture and the other users. All these aspects are clear in their renovation of an existing Neo-Georgian building dating from 1951-53, originally designed by Walker Harwood and Cranswick and today hosting the new centre of the Spanish cultural institute.
The focal point of the project is the double-height library that was designed to be an event space and where the iconic staircase is located, taking to the upper floors and working as a distinctive element of the shared spaces.
The wooden floors and white walls of the rooms were brightened up by the architects with thin red stripes in the stair balustrade, on the walls of the classes, in the reception and on the library desks.
The architecture designed by Binom Architects also includes 14 classrooms and the administrative offices. The entire work was thought as a fluid sequence of spaces interconnected through screens and glass doors ensuring the acoustic comfort of each room, while at the same time allowing the daylight to stream in from the rounded windows of the building.
The project for the Instituto Cervantes of London by Binom Architects features welcoming and functional spaces that are calm and flooded with light and did not drastically alter the existing building, that became a real added value for the architects and that notably contributes to the final result of the work.

Christiane Bürklein

Architect: Binom Architects (Marta Granda Nistal, Gonzalo Coello de Portugal, Laura Cañizares)
Structural Engineer: Dan Wilkinson
M&E Services: Garcia Engineering
Contractor: Plaintec
Location: London, UK
Year: 2018
Photographer: Ioana Marinescu

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