Fish Market

This building began with a public competition for preliminary designs for the construction of a fish market and the redesign of the port area in Benicarló. The solution proposed was based on the concept of a Mediterranean market, a single container for the different functions located within, brought together in a rationally and sustainably conditioned space. The building aims to be emphatically visible, presenting its infrastructure character and uniting all the on-land fishing activity around it. The market's envelope (22.5 x 57.4 x 10.5 meters) is constructed from a perimeter structure of constant-section reinforced concrete frames covered with 20-meter-span prefabricated "pi" beams, creating a continuous roof that is always visible from the interior. Within this volume, the secondary architectures are arranged, formed by series of trilithic structured cells. They acquire their own space and are defined and articulated by their function. These include offices, warehouses, ice chambers, entrance halls, and the auction stands. The fish's journey explains the arrangement of these pieces within the building, with the arrival of the boxes from the boats, preparation, computerized auction, classification on the floor, addition of ice, and departure to the loading dock. The façade, designed with the idea of ​​a continuous envelope, aims to achieve internal acclimatization against the rigors of summer, producing rational comfort through shade and the controlled circulation of the breeze. This element is designed as a set of two separate enclosures, mounted on two perimeter rows of galvanized steel tubular profiles, arranged from the base to the top of the façade. The interior leaf is divided into two zones: the lower one with glass to protect users from the wind, and the upper one with a dense plastic-coated steel mesh to prevent birds from entering the premises. The exterior leaf is configured as a latticework for solar protection, also intended to contain and delimit the general space, allowing certain controlled views. The slats are formed from galvanized steel trays anchored to the uprights on which the ceramic pieces will be arranged. Strategically placed, fenestration elements of the building include large windows framed by a concrete box that spans the thickness of both facades. The light reflected off the sea and the ceramics and filtered through the latticework will surprise us on the interior walls or reveal the veiled shadows on the exterior.