The rehabilitation of a historic building is one of the most technically demanding challenges in contemporary architecture. Structural constraints, protected ceiling heights, load limitations and the need to integrate modern technical infrastructure without altering the architectural character of the building — all of these variables must be resolved simultaneously, from the design stage.

In 2024, Polygroup supplied 3,000 m² of GAMAFLOR PAC 35/05 with HPV Lider Sovereign finish for the rehabilitation of the former Instituto de la Grasa building in Seville — a project designed by LISABESUR Estudio de Arquitectura that transforms this historic research facility into the new headquarters of the Demarcación de Carreteras del Estado de Andalucía Occidental, promoted by the Ministerio de Transportes, Movilidad y Agenda Urbana (MITMA) with an investment of 8.2 million euros.

A historic building with a new institutional purpose

The former Instituto de la Grasa building, located at Avenida Padre García Tejero 4 in Seville, was originally designed by architects Luis Toro Buiza and Rodrigo Fernández Vallespín and has been part of Seville’s urban fabric for decades. The building is located in a consolidated residential area of high standing, with multiple modern institutional buildings and good transport links.

Following the relocation of the Instituto de la Grasa to new facilities, the building remained vacant — until its rehabilitation as the new headquarters of the road infrastructure authority for western Andalusia gave it a new institutional life.

The project involves a complete interior refurbishment of the buildings, with partial structural reinforcements, prioritising the protection and recovery of the building’s characteristic elements — facades and roofs — while enhancing its interior spaces and restoring the original perimeter enclosure.

The technical challenge of a historic rehabilitation

Specifying a raised access floor in a historic rehabilitation project presents constraints that new build projects never face. The existing structural slab was not designed to receive a raised floor system. Ceiling heights — architecturally significant and in many cases protected — cannot be altered, making every millimetre of available plenum height a critical design variable.

In the former Instituto de la Grasa project, the GAMAFLOR PAC 35/05 system responded directly to these constraints:

• Lightweight panel construction at 12.10 kg — minimising dead load on a structure that was never dimensioned to carry a raised floor system, while maintaining the structural performance required for intensive office use.
• Adjustable pedestal and stringer structure — enabling precise levelling across 3,000 m² of existing slab with the irregularities and settlements typical of a building of this age, without requiring prior preparation works.
• Full underfloor accessibility — independently removable panels allow rapid access to electrical, data and HVAC installations without structural intervention, essential in a building in continuous institutional use.
• HPV Lider Sovereign finish — the Sovereign technology eliminates visible panel joints, creating a continuous, seamless surface that integrates naturally with the architectural character of the rehabilitated building. The antistatic, wear-resistant HPV Lider surface responds to the intensive traffic demands of an administrative headquarters in continuous public use.

HPV Lider Sovereign: technical performance and architectural continuity

The choice of HPV Lider finish with Sovereign technology responds to a dual requirement that is particularly relevant in heritage rehabilitation projects — technical performance and aesthetic integration.

The Sovereign technology conceals the panel joint system, delivering a visually continuous floor surface that does not reveal the modular nature of the raised access floor system beneath it. In a building where the architectural character of the interior spaces is a design priority, this finish allows the floor to become an invisible technical infrastructure — present in performance, absent in appearance.

The HPV Lider surface itself provides antistatic properties, high resistance to abrasion and intensive foot traffic, and easy maintenance — all essential in an administrative headquarters serving the road infrastructure of western Andalusia.

3,000 m² of technical infrastructure for a new institutional headquarters

The rehabilitation of the former Instituto de la Grasa is one of the most significant institutional rehabilitation projects in Polygroup’s portfolio in Spain — and a clear example of how the GAMAFLOR PAC system can respond simultaneously to the technical constraints of a historic building and the operational demands of a modern administrative headquarters.

At Polygroup, we work alongside architects, engineers and public administration project teams on rehabilitation projects where the raised access floor must integrate technical performance, structural compatibility and architectural sensitivity — from the first design decision to the last panel installed.

Working on a heritage building rehabilitation or historic conversion project? Our technical team can support your specification from the very first sketch. Contact us.