KREAN has carried out the basic and execution project, the site management and the WELL and BREEAM environmental certifications for the energy refurbishment of the LK3 building in Arrasate-Mondragón, Gipuzkoa. This brings to close a cycle of refurbishment of the Laboral Kutxa buildings, which began in 2012-2014 with the LK2 building, followed in 2014-2018 by the LK1 building and culminating with the LK3 building, work which began in May 2022 and was completed in April 2024, with the relocation of the staff and their return to work.
The building is the work of the architect Javier Ortega Uribe Echeverria, who drew up the project between October 1983 and September 1985. The works were carried out in the following years until 1986. There were hardly any significant interventions and the building aged honourably, but the new ways of working, the energy and environmental requirements and the need to renew its image and adapt to the times made it necessary to carry out the comprehensive refurbishment that KREAN has now completed.
The project has enhanced the value of the original image while maintaining its most outstanding values, respecting it, integrating it into the new redevelopment that is currently underway, and placing people and the environment at the centre of the project. Thus the project has been certified in BREEAM and WELL, acting on the envelopes, and on the energy production systems previously planned with the construction of the biomass thermal power plant, and integrating renewable energies such as photovoltaic without altering its image.
The intervention has been used to redefine and adapt the spaces to the new ways of working, seeking shared, friendlier and more flexible spaces, equipped with the technologies and features of the moment.
The new main entrance is more comfortable and generous with the recovery of the original staircase, which has been restored and enhanced, and the plaza space on the first floor, created as a meeting place and shared public/private space. A place where people from different areas and departments can interact with each other, and which invites access from the ground floor entrance itself.
Taking advantage of the intervention in the complex, the second floor, occupied by the MONDRAGÓN Corporation, has also undergone a profound change of image, with new finishes and equipment. The upper floors are used for Laboral Kutxa's more private work departments, where natural light and views take centre stage.
Finally, it should be noted that an outdoor area has been set up on the terrace of the third floor, designed and equipped as a new space for sharing experiences, enjoying the surroundings and the privileged views.
