14. Hispano-Olivetti Building. 1960-1964

Architects: Ludovico Barbiano di Belgiojoso, Enrico Peressutti and Ernesto Nathan Rogers, in collaboration with Josep Soteras

Location: Ronda de la Universitat, 18

The building is located on a plot on Ronda de la Universitat between carrer Balmes and Plaça Catalunya. 

Its purpose is to house the services corresponding to the general management of COMERCIAL MECANOGRAFICA, S.A. (representative of Hispano Olivetti, S.A.), as well as those corresponding to the organization’s Barcelona branch; it serves our city and its area of influence. At the same time, taking advantage of the commercial importance of the street where it is located, the area on the ground floor adjacent to the façade is used to display the company’s products. 

The building is composed of two volumes, the main one facing Ronda de la Universitat, made up of thirteen floors plus a volume above for building services. An auxiliary construction is located in the interior of the city block. This second volume is subdivided into three floors arranged at intermediate levels with respect to the main volume, in order to facilitate the layout of the ramps for vehicle access to the building’s lower level and the parking areas. The overall structure uses supports and girders made from reinforced concrete and reinforced brick floor structures. The section of the columns that remains visible was the object of a careful study in order to obtain a form that, while fulfilling the precise mechanical requirements, would provide the desired slenderness and appearance.

The size of the girders and other hidden elements of the structure complies with the functions of the loads and the load-bearing capacity, and with the conditions required for the accommodation of the central air conditioning installation. 

The floor plans indicate a clearly differentiated area for services, comprising the lifts, the staircase, the lobby and the restrooms; the rest is dedicated to office space. A rigorous modulation of the office space, using modules of 0.90 x 0.90, allows for creating separations by means of removable partitions. As a result, the space can easily be organized in keeping with the needs of each of the services located there. 

The special orientation of the building, together with the fact that both façades are designed with metallic window frames and glazing throughout, made it necessary to install a “brise-soleil” on the south-facing façade, to protect the personnel in the work stations adjacent to that façade from direct sunlight. At the same time, it does not obstruct the contribution of natural light to the interior areas of the floors. 

The layout of the floor plans is as follows: 

1. Subbasement: housing the central air conditioning, transformer station and general electrical panel, telephone exchange and auxiliary services.

2. Basement: intended mainly for private parking, also containing restrooms and changing rooms for workshop personnel. 

3. Ground floor: including the Olivetti product display shop and the repair shop for calculators and typewriters. 

4. Mezzanine floor: the front section, integrated into the volume of the store, is used for displaying products and the rear houses the special sets of accounting machines. 

5. Standard floors, from 1st to 6th:  housing the sales departments, both for the country and for the city of Barcelona and its area of influence. 

6. Penthouse 1: the front section is intended for the president’s offices, the board room and the general administration; the rear is an enlargement of the standard floor plan. 

7. Penthouse 2: including a large room intended, in principle, for conferences or courses, eventually to be converted into a cafeteria for employees. 

There is a further small volume on top that houses the machine room for the lifts, as well as the air conditioning installation for the top floor, which is independent from the rest of the building, and a water tank. 

The materials used, all of them of the highest quality, were chosen to form a range of tones that create a pleasant atmosphere for work: the office area has a ceiling made from sound-absorbing plaques, with diffusor panels for the lighting, grey rubber flooring and natural granite in the same colour; the services volume is clad in stoneware tiles, in black on the outside and grey on the inside.

The distribution was carried out using standardized elements, built in varnished Mongoy wood. They are held in place against a series of resistant elements installed in the ceiling for that purpose. 

The walls in the store area and entrance lobby are clad in vertical strips of pink granite, interspersed with Mongoy wood slats; the quality of the pavements varies according to their function: quartzite in the exhibition area and public areas, and black vibrazo tiles for vehicle circulation. 

The ceiling of the exhibition area is made up of rectangular panels, laminated in gold, equal in size to the base module.

Noteworthy elements in the exhibition area include the staircase to access the mezzanine, with its solid pink granite steps, executed following the classical standards, as well as the gate that closes it off, which can be concealed in the basement level by means of a mechanism designed for that purpose. Taking advantage of the width of the street, the façade takes the form of a stepped protrusion, which results, together with the building’s finishes that respect the function of each of the elements, in an original and distinctive whole in harmony with the urban atmosphere. 

Cuadernos de arquitectura, no. 57, 1964, pp. 20-26