The Pedro Barrié de la Maza Foundation is housed behind the façade
of a building designed by Vigo architect Manuel Gómez Román in 1919. The
project is a modern, balanced and precise response to the existing container.
The fenestration arrangement both conditions and facilitates the resolution of
the new office brief using criteria of 'functional flexibility and
versatility'.
The brief contemplates the materialization of a 'box of miracles',
in which every possible activity can be hosted by stacking a series of
multipurpose, dynamic, changing stages. All of the floors are similarly
organised in two clearly differentiated blocks: a thin bay parallel to the
existing façade and a deeper body inside the block. The smaller first bay is a
threshold of respect for the existing building, used as a distribution space on
each floor. The rooms for exhibitions and diverse events, as well as the
technical core for vertical communication and equipment, are all located in the
interior block. Between the two areas are two large glass lifts, with
adjustable transparency, that run the full height of the building, resolving
the need for fast access to each level of the construction.
On
the basis of this organisational model, the proposal maximises the potential
flexibility of the building in an attempt to take advantage of its tight dimensions.
The most important space in the Foundation is located in the entrance level.
This extremely large, tall, flexible, changing lobby is a veritable stage for
the activities of the building and it can be transformed by the incorporation
of high-end theatrical technology. By changing the floor, juggling panels or
making objects and stage curtains descend, it can be used for presentations,
exhibitions, concerts, etc. From the ground plan, access is gained via the
vertical communications core to the two multipurpose exhibition floors,
configured as clear, diaphanous spaces. Finally, the lecture hall is located on
the upper floor, featuring a theatre mechanism that enables the seating to be
removed, leaving the entire space clear for use as a supplementary exhibition
space or a multipurpose workshop.
TECHNICAL DATA. Location:
Calle Policarpo Sanz nº 31, Vigo, Spain. Architects: Luis M.
Mansilla and Emilio Tuñón. Client: Pedro Barrié de la Maza Foundation. Collaborators:
Pablo Gallego, Ricardo Lorenzana, Teresa Cruz and Matilde Peralta. Structural engineers:
Alfonso Gómez Gaite. Mechanical engineers: J.G. Asociados. Construction
managers: Luis M. Mansilla, Emilio Tuñón and Pablo Gallego. Quantity
Surveyor/Technical Architect: Sancho Páramo. Design project: 2003. Work
completion: June 2005. Built area: 3000 m². General contractor: Constructora San José S.A. Photographer: Luis Asín.
