EDU LOPEZ ARCHITECTS
Civil Guard Headquarter
Location: Castuera, Spain.
Date: Mar 2023 - Jun 2025
Typology: Office,, Housing
Size: 2.325 sqm
Status: Built.
Client: Spanish Civil Guard, Spanish Ministry of the Interior.
Collaborators: Jose Julio Diaz, Rocio Acedo (BIM), Sandra lanza (Sustainability) INCOSA (Technical Support), Ignacio Jimenez (Construction)
Architecture withdraws so that the central space can breathe: a system of volumes that finds its meaning in the void
The project is conceived as an articulated ensemble of volumes that adapt precisely to the geometry and topography of the site. A regular structural grid organizes the entire complex and gives the building a harmonious coherence in both plan and elevation, allowing each piece to find its natural place within a rigorous and serene composition.
The official facilities, the residential units, and the service and parking volume form a continuous perimeter that embraces the interior of the plot and defines a generous central courtyard. This arrangement generates a protected, almost institutional open space, where architecture withdraws to let the void—the “parade courtyard”—act as the heart of the project. In contrast, the fourth side of the perimeter opens to an exterior parking area, resolved with lightweight canopies that complete the boundary of the site.
Exterior view
The main building, containing the official facilities, rises as a clean, precise volume composed of two levels. The ground floor accommodates the project’s most public functions, while the upper floor—designed as a square piece resting on four structural modules—houses the more private working areas. This upper volume cantilevers over the entrance, reinforcing the institutional character of the access, strategically placed at the junction of the two ground-floor wings. Inside, a linear staircase accompanied by a vertical void illuminated from above organizes circulation and gives the central space a luminous and solemn presence.
Housing Exterior view
The residential pavilions are also arranged on two levels and maintain the same structural logic. Each dwelling is organized within four structural modules, freeing a single central column and ensuring open, flexible interior spaces. The shifted arrangement of the volumes avoids the reading of a monolithic block; instead, offsets, patios and covered spaces enrich the domestic experience. Every residence—whether on the ground or upper floor—benefits from a private outdoor space, either a patio or a terrace, reinforcing the sense of intimacy and belonging.
Between these two worlds—the official and the residential—lies the service volume, containing parking, storage rooms and technical spaces. Its strategic position optimizes the distribution of installations while maintaining the volumetric continuity of the ensemble. Far from being a secondary piece, it acts as a hinge and ensures the architectural coherence of the entire project.
Office building access
The site is organized through three stepped platforms connected by ramps and separated by one-meter level differences, responding naturally to the terrain’s topography. This configuration allows a clear differentiation of accesses: the primary entrance is located at the point with the greatest openness toward the urban fabric, while the private access to the dwellings is reserved for the upper platform of the residential area.
Office building view
Formally and constructively, the project embraces a restrained, almost ascetic system: white, solid volumes whose formal silence emphasizes the openings and their modulation. Over them, a continuous layer of vertical aluminium ribs extends across the various buildings, unifying the ensemble through their proportion, materiality and colour—one of the institutional greens of the agency. These elements create an architectural rhythm that adds depth, shadow and a coherent reading to the entire complex. The contrast between the purity of the white planes and the precision of the vertical fins gives the project a contemporary, robust and recognisable identity.
Main Access
The result is a clear, orderly and sober architecture; a composition of volumes that engage in dialogue through shared proportions, patios, setbacks and strategic voids. A building that, without relinquishing its functional character, constructs a serene and thoughtfully designed institutional landscape where every element finds its place within a coherent and unified system.
Interior view