Country: Portugal
Type: Office building
The Vodafone headquarters in the city of Oporto is a major white concrete building dating from 2009. The building, which will accommodate all of the company's departments, has eight floors, five of which are above ground and three underground, with a total area of 4 700 m².
Developed by architects António Barbosa and Pedro Guimarães, its modern design aimed to create a sense of movement and dynamism, in line with the Vodafone image, through the angular windows of its façades.
According to the architects, "the development of this concept is based on concrete, which through its plasticity, allows for the creation of irregular and free- form shapes, working both as a structural solution and providing an exterior appearance, creating a unique shape, a monolithic building, bringing cohesion and unity".
From an engineering point of view, the construction proved to be a challenge because "the technical complexity of the building leads to a peripheral structural solution, a concrete shell, like an egg, reducing internal support to two stairwells and three central pillars, allowing for great versatility when using its interior space" (Guimarães).
A natural scale prototype was built to test the specificities of the CEM II/A-L 52,5 N white cement concrete panel - colour, texture, plasticity, formwork panel design and also curing period. Reinforced concrete was used for the upper level slabs. However, for the northern and southern panels, engineers chose a self- compacting, cast-in-situ concrete structure.
The Vodafone headquarters took two years to build, with an overall cost of €13.4 million, and was made entirely with lower clinker cement.