Illa de Arousa Sociocultural Complex (Concert Hall)

ILLA DE AROUSA SOCIOCULTURAL CENTRE Author: J. Manuel Gallego Jorreto In the town centre of Illa de Arousa (5000 inhabitants), the area today occupied by old, abandoned canning factories is being remodelled to create a new town centre, revitalise the area and conserve existing cultural references and models. A social centre for the elderly is being designed with a classroom, library, cafeteria and administrative offices, as well as a small theatre for 250 people and a small space for exhibitions. The insufficient amount of space in the location, as well as the convenience of its uses being combined for easier control and surveillance, meant that the activity had to be condensed into one location, joining together what were to be two constructions and building only one. The centre for the elderly is supported by the existing party wall and joined to the town hall building to formalise the representative space. The rest is a combination of small areas joined together like spaces between the buildings and designed through the relations established between what is to be built and what is already there. The result is a segmented public area similar in scale to that which already exists on the island - currently in the process of disappearing- but with one fundamental difference: the whole can be considered as one building and the empty spaces are not leftovers between buildings, but rather they have been specifically designed. Accordingly, consideration is given to the project s capacity for generating a change in the urban space. Owing to its location, it stands on land that is of very poor quality as far as resistance is concerned and affected by the tides. Accordingly, it has been designed with concrete walls that behave like cut-off girders so that the foundations can be concentrated at specific points. The outer walls are plastered and painted; the interior is isolated and covered with wooden panels. The opening of spaces and porches has been reapplied with the climate in mind: strong winds, sunshine and rain. The solar panels are there to reduce energy consumption.