Case study · Zaragoza, Aragón (Spain)
A bank's HQ that opens up to the city.
How Ibercaja turns its 1980 headquarters into Espacio Xplora: five zones for meeting, experience and professional development, barrier-free and labelled with NaviLens codes for blind and low-vision visitors.
Plaza de Ibercaja
Ibercaja head office · Plaza de Basilio Paraíso · Zaragoza
6 Sep 2023
Official opening with authorities from the Government of Aragón and the City Council
5 zones
Xcaparate, Xploramos, Xperiencia, Xperto and the Patio de la Infanta antechamber
Barrier-free
Accessible space labelled with NaviLens codes for visual impairment
The client
Ibercaja
Espacio Xplora
Ibercaja is one of the main financial institutions of Aragonese origin. Its head office on Plaza de Basilio Paraíso in Zaragoza has been one of the most recognisable buildings on Paseo de la Independencia since it opened in 1980.
In September 2023 the bank turns its ground floor into Espacio Xplora: a place for meeting, professional development, experience and civic life, open to anyone, with five distinct zones and online bookings at xplora.ibercaja.es.
The project is designed from day one as a barrier-free space and “equipped with the new NaviLens technology signage for people with visual impairment,” as Ibercaja's official communication puts it.
§ The challenge
A bank HQ that has to explain itself on its own.
- 01
A corporate HQ open to the city
Ibercaja decides to open its head office on Plaza de Basilio Paraíso to the public. The challenge: turn a 1980 bank building into a civic meeting point that anyone can visit, attend events at or meet an expert in — without physical or sensory barriers.
- 02
Five very different zones under one roof
Xcaparate (a 36 m² LED wall), Xploramos (auditorium), Xperiencia (VR with an arch-portal to 19th-century Zaragoza), Xperto (coworking) and the antechamber of the Patio de la Infanta. Each zone has its own narrative and needs to be explained to those who can't read the signage.
- 03
Universal accessibility as a public commitment
The new space is unveiled with authorities from the Government of Aragón and the City Council. The institutional promise is clear: “an accessible space, free of architectural barriers and equipped with the new NaviLens technology for people with visual impairment.”
§ The solution
NaviLens on every
column and entrance.
NaviLens codes on the steel columns, the black granite pillars and beside the revolving doors leading to Plaza de Ibercaja: the app detects them from several metres away and reads aloud each zone —Xcaparate, Xploramos, Xperiencia, Xperto and the Patio de la Infanta antechamber—.
For blind or low-vision visitors this means being able to find the entrance from the street, locate the exit, find the arch-portal of the immersive “A journey through time” experience and navigate an open marble and wood floor plate without asking for help.
§ Timeline
From the 1980 building to a civic headquarters.
1980
Ibercaja's head office
The main Ibercaja building is inaugurated on Plaza de Basilio Paraíso, a landmark of Zaragoza's architectural modernity linked to the legacy of the 1908 Hispano-French Exposition.
6 Sep 2023
Opening of Espacio Xplora
Institutional event with the President of the Cortes of Aragón, Marta Fernández, the Mayor of Zaragoza, Natalia Chueca, and the Vice-Presidents of the Government of Aragón, Alejandro Nolasco and Mar Vaquero. The new space is presented as a place for meeting, professional development, experience and civic life.
Accessibility
NaviLens on columns, entrances and zones
The project adds NaviLens codes on steel columns, black marble pillars and beside the revolving doors leading to Plaza de Ibercaja, so that blind and low-vision visitors can locate the entrance, exit, five zones and services from a distance.
Today
Online bookings at xplora.ibercaja.es
Anyone can book online for the VR experiences “Xperiencia Ibercaja Ski” and “A journey through time,” attend the “Los martes de Xploración” and “Grandes Xploradores” series, or meet an expert in the Xperto Zone.
§ Gallery
Five zones, one accessible entrance.
§ Results
A corporate HQ for every audience.
Open HQ
The bank building becomes a civic meeting point accessible to all audiences
5 tagged zones
NaviLens codes on entrances, columns and the Xcaparate, Xploramos, Xperiencia, Xperto and Patio de la Infanta zones
Public commitment
Ibercaja consolidates the universal accessibility criteria announced at the institutional opening in its head office
§ Press & sources
What's been said about Espacio Xplora with NaviLens
“Xplora es además un espacio accesible, sin barreras arquitectónicas que dificulten la circulación y el acceso, y equipado con la señalización de la nueva tecnología Navilens para personas con discapacidad visual.”
“Ibercaja inaugura un nuevo espacio de encuentro, desarrollo profesional, experiencia y convivencia ciudadana en su sede central de Zaragoza. ‘Espacio Xplora’ surge con el propósito de reimpulsar la modernidad que representó para la estética de la capital aragonesa la inauguración del edificio principal de la Entidad en 1980.”
“La Presidenta de las Cortes de Aragón, Marta Fernández, la Alcaldesa de Zaragoza, Natalia Chueca, y los vicepresidentes del Gobierno de Aragón, Alejandro Nolasco y Mar Vaquero, han asistido a la presentación del Espacio Xplora, un lugar abierto a todas las personas que quieran ampliar conocimientos.”
“NaviLens es un sistema de señalización digital universal que permite mostrar en una aplicación móvil información adaptada a cada perfil. Es accesible en cualquier espacio o elemento para personas con discapacidad visual y, además, tiene capacidad para eliminar las barreras lingüísticas.”
§ And your headquarters?
Your office can also welcome in 42 languages.
Tell us about your building, your services and your visitors. We’ll show you how NaviLens would make your office truly accessible.
