Caixa Ontinyent Cultural Centre
The main purpose of this project is to conceive a building that contains the cultural activity such as exhibitions, performances, concerts, conferences... and at the same time it represents the enterprising spirit of the entity.
The site is located between buildings, the shape is like a polygon and it crosses the block in the way to the river. So the building will have two facades, the historic one, linked to the memory of the city and the contemporary one that looks to the Clariano River.
The project represents a big volume formed by two pieces which are intersected, creating a big garden in the private courtyard. The main entrance is in the historic façade, through a low height we arrive to a high space where all the rooms look into.
The big hall has a lot of functions, like reception, foyer and multipurpose area that can be used in exhibitions and meetings.
There are a lot of crossed views, from here to the café, the office, the council room, the exhibition hall, the auditorium… creating relationships but maintaining their own independence. There are some big skylights in the high central part that produce a great lighting of the space. This treatment is taken to the design of the façade of the courtyard; big hollows give sense of depth and frame the sights to the landscape.
The hierarchy of the spaces is reached by playing with the different heights. The garden becomes the focus of the perspective and the big hollows enter the light into the inner spaces.
