The project is located in the Poble Nou neighborhood of Barcelona, on a plot that was part of the former jute spinning mill of the Hermanos Godó , popularly known as "El Cànem". The façade of the existing building that faces Doctor Trueta Street, included in the Architectural Heritage Protection Plan, has been preserved.
![https://archello.com/story/127678/attachments/photos-videos/3 photo_credit Adrià Goula](https://archello.com/thumbs/images/2023/08/09/b720-ferm--n-v--zquez-arquitectos-knem-offices-offices-archello.1691592994.0446.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress)
The program is distributed in three volumes within the plot: two blocks that face each of the streets and a block in the central area that joins them through a large landscaped patio.
![https://archello.com/story/127678/attachments/photos-videos/4 photo_credit Adrià Goula](https://archello.com/thumbs/images/2023/08/09/b720-ferm--n-v--zquez-arquitectos-knem-offices-offices-archello.1691592994.3461.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress)
Despite this organization into three distinct entities, it seemed appropriate to create a certain formal unity that would combine tradition and innovation while highlighting the industrial past of Poble Nou and the legacy of the "El Cànem" factory.
![https://archello.com/story/127678/attachments/photos-videos/6 photo_credit Adrià Goula](https://archello.com/thumbs/images/2023/08/09/b720-ferm--n-v--zquez-arquitectos-knem-offices-offices-archello.1691592995.5889.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress)
Thus, a continuous plinth of masonry runs along the perimeter of the entire complex, unifying the three volumes in a single programmatic and formal body. Two glass boxes are supported and raised on this plinth, screened with an aluminum lattice that evokes the weaving of jute fibers.
![https://archello.com/story/127678/attachments/photos-videos/7 photo_credit Adrià Goula](https://archello.com/thumbs/images/2023/08/09/b720-ferm--n-v--zquez-arquitectos-knem-offices-offices-archello.1691592996.1633.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress)
This duality between the industrial past and the contemporary vocation of the new building is materialized in the formal contrast between the plinth and the raised boxes.
![https://archello.com/story/127678/attachments/photos-videos/5 photo_credit Adrià Goula](https://archello.com/thumbs/images/2023/08/09/b720-ferm--n-v--zquez-arquitectos-knem-offices-offices-archello.1691592995.3088.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress)
Just as the blocks facing the street offer large, diaphanous and flexible office spaces thanks to the strategic location of the vertical cores and the post-tensioned concrete structure, the central block is configured as an addition of smaller duplex-type offices open to the central passageway, reminiscent of the old industrial workshops that dotted the urban fabric of Poble Nou.
![https://archello.com/story/127678/attachments/drawings/2 photo_credit b720 Fermín Vázquez Arquitectos](https://archello.com/thumbs/images/2023/08/09/b720-ferm--n-v--zquez-arquitectos-knem-offices-offices-archello.1691593659.5925.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress)
![https://archello.com/story/127678/attachments/drawings/9 photo_credit b720 Fermín Vázquez Arquitectos](https://archello.com/thumbs/images/2023/08/09/b720-ferm--n-v--zquez-arquitectos-knem-offices-offices-archello.1691594041.4866.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress)