capella garcia arquitectura: espai ridaura

‘espai ridaura’ by capella garcia arquitectura in santa cristina d’aro, girona, spain all images courtesy capella garcia arquitectura image © rafael vargas

barcelona-based practice capella garcia arquitectura (juli capella, miquel garcia) has shared with us images of ‘espai ridaura’, a multipurpose school of music in santa cristina d’aro, girona, spain. situated on a large triangular site in a new and growing residential area near the town centre, the design explores ways of integrating the architecture with the landscape by raising a chunk of virgin land to form a cantilevering green roof while incorporating local earth and gravel in the make up of the walls for a naturally-pigmented exterior.

exterior view image © rafael vargas

located close to the coast in the upper reach of the vall d’aro, the municipality required a new facility that could accommodate the rich cultural and leisure life of the town in a venue that could cater to both professional performances and local gatherings. the surrounding grounds of the site is largely left open to facilitate a free-flowing circulation, establishing the building as a public domain for visitors and inhabitants alike. set against the backdrop of the leafy woodland that lines the banks of the ridaura torrent, the architecture describes a landscape of its own by two well-defined volumes that are oriented on a north-south axis to ‘slide’ against one another. the green roof system not only displaces the pre-existing vegetation of the site but provides acoustic and thermal insulation for the interior.

larger volume image © rafael vargas

approach image © rafael vargas

west elevation image © rafael vargas

east elevation image © rafael vargas

facade detail image © rafael vargas

view of mountains beyond building image © rafael vargas

green roof image © rafael vargas

organized entirely on a single level, the larger of the two volumes contains the entrance, vestibule, multipurpose hall, projection and lighting control rooms, reception, ticket office, and a small bar. the main hall is an unobstructed 6 meter-high space equipped with retractable seating tiers (202 spectators). this configuration allows for maximum flexibility, providing multiple configurations and arrangements to ideally suit the event or performance at hand. at the rear of the stage is a large window that captures the landscape to render the view as a part of the interior.

entrance image © rafael vargas

interior view image © rafael vargas

front desk image © rafael vargas

multipurpose hall and stage image © rafael vargas

view from stage image © rafael vargas

circulation space image © rafael vargas

image © rafael vargas

entrance at night image © rafael vargas

night view image © rafael vargas

image © rafael vargas

site

aerial views

concept

floor plan / level 0

seating variation

seating variation

seating variation

floor plan / level +1

longitudinal section

cross section

north elevation

south elevation

east elevation

west elevation

project info:

client: ajuntament santa cristina d’aro total area: 1,215 m2

architects: juli capella, miquel garcia collaborators: lisardo adan, joan bozzo, pau monguio project responsible: lisardo adan project management: juli capella structural calculations: javier monte installation engineering: celec site management: santa cristina d’aro city council quantity surveyor: agusti vidal contractor: euritmia green roof: acieroid