“Genoves Lookout’s Park and Protection Building” of the architect José Luiz Bezos Alonso | Koscon Industrial S.A.

Koscon Industrial SA, won the price for the best sustainable project, thanks to the realization “Genoves Lookout’s Park and Protection Building”  of the architect José Luiz Bezos Alonso.

The new building protects the World Heritage Species inhabiting Genoves Park from the adjacent marine environment while maintaining a feeling of lightness and transparency. The polycarbonate sheets were used in the project to allow careful light exposure and a very resistant structure.

The project passed the first round where a jury panel judges the projects individually. Only the three best projects went to the second round. The projects selected by the Jury were published on the EPSE website where the public voted on their favorite project in each of the 3 categories. On 3 November, the European Polycarbonate Sheets Extruders group (EPSE) held its award ceremony to announce the winners of its 7th Awards Competition recognizing the most sustainable, most innovative and best designed projects made out of polycarbonate sheets. The ceremony took place at the Batimat Fair in Paris. The competition and the award ceremony promoted the unique properties of polycarbonate and the wide array of applications in which it can be used.

The project is one of the winning proposals of an international contest promoted by the Town Hall of Cadiz together with the local Architects Association. The objective of the contest was to re-organize and urbanize the grounds of the esplanade of Santa Bárbara which works as a fence to protect the Genovés Park. The exotic World Heritage Species inhabiting the park need to be protected from the adjacent sea and its marine environment. Previously, a high, masonry blank wall preserved them from rough weather and the ocean’s breeze, completely shielding the park from the coastal area. This new building project has replaced the wall and, thanks to its transparency, allows for a more permeable relationship with the Santa Bárbara Esplanade, while meeting the same protective functions. The materials used in this project allow for a feeling of lightness and transparency. Apart from polycarbonate sheets, glass and steel were also used in this project. The façade, which is made of glass on the ground floor and of a double translucent polycarbonate skin in the upper level, is backlighted at night, creating an extensive beam of light opposite the bay.Polycarbonate was used in the “Genoves Park’s Lookout and Protection Building” project with a double purpose: for technical and aesthetical reasons.

From the technical aspect, the application of polycarbonate panels allowed to create an extremely light yet resistant outer coating to protect the steel and concrete substructures permanently exposed to the rough weather and winds coming from the sea. At the same time, the polycarbonate panels are used as well for the interior to partition the walls between the main structure and for the users’ facility. From the aesthetic aspect, the translucent polycarbonate panels permit coverings that let the sunlight penetrate the inside of the building during the day, without any disturbing glaring effects. At night, the backlighted panels, visible from the outside, colourfully illuminate the building. The extreme flexibility of the polycarbonate sheets created fully integrated, seamless walls whilst at the same time uniformly following the particular line of the building which completely project. The aim of the project Genoves Park’s Lookout and Protection Building was to make a better use of its surrounding area and to create a link between the Genoves Park and the Esplanade. It is not only a lookout or a protection building, but this new transformed area will now host cultural activities as well as accommodate a restaurant, a reading room and other areas. The extreme flexibility of the polycarbonate system create seamless, fully integrated walls at the same time following uniformly the particular line of the building, which completes the aim of the Genoves Park’s Lookout and Protection Building project.