cerrejón hidalgo arquitectos: cabezo de la almagra

‘cabezo de la almagra’ by cerrejón hidalgo arquitectos, huelva, spain image © roland halbe all images courtesy of cerrejón hidalgo arquitectos

zaragoza-based practice cerrejón hidalgo arquitectos has sent us images of the recently completed ‘cabezo de la almagra’, a watchtower positioned upon a promontory at the university of huelva in huelva, spain. the structure is a focal element in a network of roadways, serving as a gate to the campus. visitors ascend the hill, approaching the rustic rectilinear volumes through a natural parkscape planted with native species, ornamental vegetation and trees dating from historical periods. the ground level contains hollows and ramps leading towards archeological remains. the highest floor offers elevated perspectives of the encompassing landscape and tinto river in the distance. workshops and laboratories are situated below grade.

view from perimeter of site image © roland halbe

entirely clad with reused cor-ten steel, the facade expresses a timeless presence, appearing as though it has been gradually rusted and weathered. surfaced with iron oxide, the color of the volumes corresponds with the hues found in the soil and marshes, appearing to delicately float above the terrain.

facade detail image © roland halbe

ground level image © roland halbe

view of ground floor from the stairs image © roland halbe

corten stairway image © roland halbe

view overlooking the staircase image © roland halbe

view to the landscape through upper level window image © roland halbe

site plan image © cerrejón hidalgo arquitectos

floor plan / level 0 image © cerrejón hidalgo arquitectos

floor plan / level 1 image © cerrejón hidalgo arquitectos floor plan / level -1 image © cerrejón hidalgo arquitectos

section image © cerrejón hidalgo arquitectos

roadway plan image © cerrejón hidalgo arquitectos

garden plan image © cerrejón hidalgo arquitectos

aerial photo image © cerrejón hidalgo arquitectos

project info:

work: museum and archaeological park “cabezo de la almagra” in the campus of the university of huelva architect: sebastián cerrejón hidalgo

collaborators: cerrejón arquitectos, s. l. p., joaquín gracia barberán (metal structure), josé sainz sopeña (foundation), carlos enviz (agricultural engineer), juan manuel campos carrasco (archaeologist), grupo jg (facilities)

location: university campus of “el carmen”, huelva sponsors: municipal management of urbanism town hall of huelva construction: terracivíl, s.a., vicente cantalapiedra (chief of work) materials: cor-ten steel reused, acoustic plate of fine wood shavings with magnesite (herakustik star), cobblestone ceramic (klinker) action area: 21.489,68 m2 photographer: roland halbe