Transformations: Mechanisms to extend the life of buildings

Universidad Catolica Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo

Project idea

Leisure center for students, in an old palace.
It moves and encourages to continue discovering ways of living that can happen when someone becomes interested in the obsolete; one more example of how buildings do nothing but prolong their existence through transformations, a collage that adds and subtracts material, deserting oblivion.
Accepting that the material or physical pre-existence can act as witnesses to the memory of a place and in turn be transferred to the future development of the territory.
This project explores in the field of architecture, mechanisms that can be applied in those buildings that have reached a state of obsolescence or uselessness; developing 6 actions that are the result of an investigation based on architectural recycling works.
Build: Use what's there and add.
Preserve: Maintain the state in which it is
Unveil: Deconstruct. Demolish. Back to a state.
Starvation: Leave time. Do nothing.
Restore: Recover with a high degree of fidelity. Imitate a state.
Install: Adaptation for the container building.

Project description

As a starting point, the planimetric survey of the old "Palace of the Counts of Castillejo", located in the city of Granada, Spain, was carried out with a series of cartographies that assess the state of degradation of the building. The new intended use will be a leisure center for the students of the School of Architecture and Fine Arts. Inside the building, it has been decided to open spaces and add environments that are fixed to the new structure that hangs from the roof; among them a staircase, a bridge and other rooms.
Some important details of the initial construction of the sixteenth century have also been recovered.

Technical information

A study has been made of the damage found and its possible restoration solutions.
Subsequently, a steel beam reinforcement made up the entire design of the roof and the last level. Columns that support the staircase, a bridge and other environments are fixed on this structure. Polycarbonate was used to cover the walls, allowing natural light to pass through and giving it a light appearance.