Introduction

The Cloud is a new building designed by Miàs Architects for Andorra Telecom. The building primarily functions as the company’s headquarters – it hosts the fibre optic cables that provide connectivity to Andorra – and it also provides all of its internal functions, alongside office space for external companies and start-ups; commercial premises; technological, information and communication (TIC) spaces; a museum; an auditorium; a flagship store; bars; restaurants and public space. Due to its inventive structural design, the majority of the site is free for public use. This represents one of the most important aims of the building: to be generous to Andorra la Vella’s citizens.

Andorra is the sixth-smallest nation in Europe, bordered by France to the north and Spain to the south, with an area of 468 km2 and a population of approximately 77,000 at the time of writing. The Cloud is a sophisticated building that represents Andorra’s ambitions for economic change and innovation. Located on a narrow plot in the centre of the scenic capital city, it stands at 65 m, with a width of 30 m at its widest, while the surrounding buildings are on average 15 m high.

The Cloud reimagines the city centre, offering gastronomic, social, commercial and economic facilities, as well as new public space. Below street level, restaurants and bars can be found in addition to cultural spaces for public use. Meanwhile, a planted atrium organises the internal functions of the building.

The Cloud is a singular building comprised of a central steel structure which incorporates its mechanics and a main volume, which is organic in shape and appears as if it is floating above the ground. The final volume was achieved using 3D and physical models. The façade on the lower floors is shaped around the adjacent buildings and opens to the sky on the upper floors. The form of the building and its multifunctional transparent glass façade reduces its visual impact on the city and the surrounding landscape.

Furthermore, the building hosts a harmonic network of communication and infrastructure systems based on the latest sustainable technology. The rounded ring façade integrates LED screens and solar collection systems, and is intended to be a technological reference for contemporary communication.

7 Andorra la Vella is situated in a valley in the centre of the Pyrenees mountain range.

8 The demolition process of the existing buildings.

9 The Cloud is embedded into the narrow streets of Andorra la Vella.

10–1 The Cloud’s required programme.

12 The main architectural strategies. 13 Preliminary conceptual model of the overall programme.

14 Case-study wire model.

15 Model testing The Cloud’s integration into the city’s urban fabric.