The FAD Architecture and Interior Design Awards are the longest running and best known in Spain and Portugal in these disciplines, now being held for the 61st time. They recognise the best projects in the categories of Architecture, Interior Design, City and Landscape, and Ephemeral Interventions, from among all the finalist projects. This year, the building that won the Architecture FAD was the Playa Flamenca de Orihuela secondary school, designed by architect Alfredo Paya Benedito for which, Eiffage Infraestructuras is the construction company. The jury’s opinion was that “it responds to an extensive and repetitive school programme with the typical economic limitations of these types of public works, yet despite this, he is capable of creating an extraordinarily rich space – an internal landscape of its own that that is detached from an unattractive environment. The clarity of its linear structure contrasts with the changing nature of episodes of space, which follow one another as you go along. The quality of the interstitial spaces, compressed and expanded, resolved with a limited palette of materials, is accentuated by the expressiveness of structural solutions that free up large open areas in relation to the exterior patio. It is highly valued as a contemporary, innovative and surprising response in the field of school architecture, which is often limited to conventional and closed solutions.” The project executed by Eiffage Infraestructuras had a total material execution budget of 7,953,607 euros for a constructed surface area of 8,934.36 square metres. The building follows a linear design, with a length of 220 metres, to house the classrooms built on two large metal lattice girders that run along the length of the structure. The lecture hall rests on a framework of supports made from concrete screens that are built up from the floor level and make up a series of small constructions. These are set out in standalone packages that are arranged to connect diagonally with the part above. A sequence of open and linked patios connect the entire surface area of the plot.
