+++

​

1st Prize

Premios Promoción Inmobiliaria APIRM 2014

​

+++

​

San Cristóbal building is located where before there was a previous building in ruins. Because of the impossibility to recover the existing building, preserving the original volume was our initial strategy. We tried to preserve the citizen’s perception of this site in the city, which is characterized by its dense urban scene with Islamic origin

 

1. Maximum transparency on the ground floor.

Taking part in a historical city centre gave us the possibility to improve the environment where the citizens take a walk in the city centre. Our project fades out on the ground floor in search of maximum transparency. The supports are reduced until the minimum expression. The previous structural walls become large glass surfaces. This strategy allows us to connect visually San Cristóbal Street with Peligros Square, disclosing the hidden secrets behind the dense urban scene with Islamic origin.

 

2. Interpreting the old.

After several previous studies, we discovered that the existing building was the result of several modifications and additions along the years. So, the strategy consisted of identifying the verified elements in the building, and then to interpret and recover them. The verified elements are the first floor and the second floor. Then, our design makes references to the previous façades, but it isn’t subjugated by the rigid previous layout of windows. In our new façades, the priority is the correct lighting of interior spaces. Black aluminium frames establish the new layout of windows and replace the previous moulding. The windows break their historical ‘corset’ to look for the light. In the facing North façade, a new niche recovers the essence of the previous one. Furthermore, it gives new refuge to the sacred statue which was in the historical building for a long time.

 

3. Building the new.

On the upper floors, we make the maximum innovations in the design. The upper piece is built with contemporaneous materials -a long lasting white glass skin- to distinguish it from the lower piece. Then, this white surface becomes a large canvas where we can write a readable text. This text tells the history about San Cristóbal: “Según la tradición, San Cristóbal fue un gigante cananeo conocido con el nombre de Ofero…”

​

+++

​

Design Credits:

Architecture and interior design by CLAVEL ARQUITECTOS

Partners in Charge: Manuel Clavel Rojo / Luis Clavel Sainz

​

Team: Ricardo Carcelén González, Diego Victoria García, David Pérez Martínez, Aarón Hernández Hernández, Rafael de Giles González, David Hernández Conesa

​

Photography: David Frutos (BISimages)

​

+++