New use for an abandoned church in ruins
Basic information
Project Title
Full project title
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Project Description
The ruins of an ancient abandoned church in a small town gave us the opportunity to recovered the building for social and cultural usses . A curated new approach was taken to turn a sacred apace in a multiple use space, while incorporating the old remains. The spirit of the building was conserved, but with a twist to adapt it to new uses. The solutions applied for the new walls and ceiling incorporated materials environmentaly friendly and representaitve of the traditional industry of the area.
Project Region
EU Programme or fund
Description of the project
Summary
In the town of Vilanova de la Barca there was an abandoned Church which was damaged and in ruins since the 1936 Civil War bombing. This project proposed the refurbishing of this space, desacralizing it and recovering it for the Community. This new building was designed to be a new common multiple uses space so it could be used for cultural and social events. The design kept in mind the origins of the space, so that it hold this mystical atmosphere recalling the image of Northern Europe churches or the wide rooms of the medieval castles.
The structure mantained the original stone walls, with open white brick walls on the new areas. The idea of collage-like walls and complementing materials reflecting the mixture of uses of the Building since its creation as well as the new and modern ones.
Key objectives for sustainability
The key objective of the project is to recover an abandoned church to transform it into a meeting space and to add a value to this space, designing it to reflect the past and the future of the area. Also, the remains of the original walls, which were severely damaged, were maintained, and the materials added are fully sustainable and traditional in the area.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
The project aimed to keep the mystical air of the ancient church but adding the presence of light and wide spaces to make a room which is exceptionally well furbished to hold concerts and cultural events, as well as social and educational ones.
The mysticism was attained by matching the light coloured stone walls with white brick areas and a new ceiling which is conceived as a tile shell. The outer façade opts for the continuity of the original walls while the interior represents the contrast and discontinuity. It’s a dialogue of complementary elements between the new and the original design, between the present and the past.
Key objectives for inclusion
Inclusion on this project is achieved by a wide open design able to accommodate all kind of users.
Results in relation to category
The cultural heritage of the town is transformed into a new and modern space for the citizens for any kind of social and cultural uses.
The design always kept in mind the plant of the ancient church and the best way to preserve old remains. The damaged stone walls were incorporated as a representative and foundational base of the new building, giving a new life to these remains which had been abandoned and unused for a long period.
How Citizens benefit
The ancient church was in ruins since the bombings of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, thus making the building unsafe and unfit for any kind of common use. It was an old claim of the citizens of Vilanova to refurbish the remains of the old church, which is in itself the only valuable historical heritage building of the town. Another claim of the citizens was to have more spaces for social and cultural events, such as exhibitions, cultural events and social gatherings. With this in mind, the city council started a refurbishment projecte in 2014, which was concluded in 2016.
Innovative character
The combination of new design and humble materials with the original large stones and the tile ceiling are a fresh contribution to the classical refurbishing of an ancient building. The aim was not to recover and rebuild the church for its original use, but to create a new space able to accommodate new uses without forgetting the original uses of the space.
Also the use of bright colours use contrast with other refurbishing works as the original church was a dark classical church, and this new project wills to create a space with was fully lighted both with natural and artificial light, but maintaining the spirit of the old building.
