Teruel-zilla !! Underground leisure lair and public space

Design concepts: The decision of introducing a big volume of youth activities into the earth, that revitalizes and empowers Teruel's activity, impulses the image which we work in the project. The public space and leisure center project takes a buried Godzilla's expression: a telluric element of contemporary and pop expression. The big buried volume pushes the earth surface till it brakes and produces a new urban topography. The visitants will settle this surface that becomes into a public square, and they will go down in between the stratums, being entertained by meeting activities, fun and sports. The new activities and their contemporary manifestation, make evident new ways of urban dialogue, especially in a city where history has taken up such an important space. It is the discovery of new possibilities of expression and in a daring appropriation of them, is where we consider that its potencial lies. Site conditions: The project is located in the historical center of Teruel, remodeling 1500 m2 of Domingo Gascón Public Square and introducing 3000 m2 of interior leisure program. Construction and materials: The interior configuration of the steel structure allows maximum space and facilitates underground natural light. By being buried the façades are considerably reduced, so the material expression focuses on the manifestation of the structure and the color. The intense red highlights the need of energy and contributes to the activities fluidity. The main surfaces of the square are granite, melting with the surrounding streets also in granite, reinforcing its integration and mimesis with the historical center. Sustainability: The buried program improves its natural insulation, avoiding the waste of energy and simultaneously, allows a high social sustainability by introducing a highly demanded program in Teruel's gravity urban center. This fact also optimizes performance over years avoiding an intense use of public transport.