Fab Lab is the acronym for fabrication laboratory, a place aimed for creating objects through open and interconnected research.
The statement of needs provided for developing this project was titled 'Fab Lab' by my architecture school and it included two fabrication laboratories. However, this statement was considerably broader as it also requested spaces for learning, for research in other disciplines and for sharing ideas. For this reason, we should not only talk about a Fab Lab, but about a Campus: a place where exchange is promoted and developing interdisciplinary projects is encouraged in such a way that the limits of branches of knowledge get dissolved.
Furthermore, the urban context imposes clear conditions. The proposed plot is surrounded by a large wall from a neighbouring building, a narrow alley on its side and a small square on its back.
Having this in mind, a free and transparent ground floor allows performing the most diverse activities while drawing attention from the pedestrians in the streets. A core made of reinforced concrete rests on the wall of the neighbouring building, centralising communications and services.
Laboratories are arranged in steel boxes of different sizes depending on their requirements. All of them float inside a large glass space while a wide stairway snakes between them. When ascending, the user is surprised by diagonal views which cross several spaces and introduce the surrounding environment into the building.
