Building refurbishment for municipal offices | 1004arquitectos

Torrelavega City Council intends to create a space for the contact between the administration and the citizen that will temporarily become the main headquarters of the City Council, housing a multipurpose room that will be used as a plenary hall; and the citizen service office, capable of meeting the different needs of citizens (statistics, registration, etc.). In addition, the mayor's office will be accommodated along with the offices of the municipal groups. It will also have a meeting or press room. 

The proposal seeks to enhance the public function that will be carried out by the building to be refurbished, the former headquarters of the Torrelavega Chamber of Commerce. The simplification of the program and its circulations, accessibility and easy reading for the citizen, as well as its clear and effective internal organization are the guiding strategies of the proposal. Furthermore, the possible temporality of its use as the main headquarters of the City Council makes it necessary to consider an intervention that is versatile, flexible and open enough to host future compatible programs. 

Intervening on a historic building in the city, the proposal is based on respect and enhancement of its structural and spatial configuration, its exterior envelope and its most significant elements. The structural and spatial configuration of the original project for the building was defined by the clear distribution of a central core flanked by two side wings. This configuration was damaged by the execution of a rear volume that distorted the geometric and symmetrical purity of the project and by the introduction of a second service staircase that broke the structural axis that separated the central core from the north wing. The proposal tries to recover the original configuration by eliminating the second staircase (originally for service), unnecessary both for use and by regulations. By eliminating this staircase, the original configuration of the building is restored by recovering the structural and spatial axes that divide the core and adjacent spaces. 

This configuration also allows the restoration of the original distribution of the building in which the staircase and toilets were concentrated in the central core. A single core that combines the staircase, elevator and toilets is now located at the centre of gravity of the building. In this way, it structures vertical communication, as well as the connection between the two wings of the building. 

The rear volume is maintained to house the elevator and enable this volume as a secondary exit from the building on the ground floor, which is required by regulations. The rear volume will now be connected to the main hall by opening a large gap in the rear wall of the building. This opening unifies the original exit from the building with the different openings that have been made over the years. In turn, the façade of the rear volume will be glazed so that a visual continuity is produced that connects both façades of the building. 

.urbanization 

With the same idea of generating a space for relationship between the administration and the citizens, it is proposed to open the setback space available on the plot to give it to the city in the form of a small access plaza to the building. In this way, the existing barrier between the building and the city is eliminated, responding to the character of a public good that corresponds to it. The existing enclosure will be demolished and an access staircase will be created integrated with a side ramp that allows access to people with reduced mobility. The free area will be used as a recreational area with benches and vegetation. 

.exterior image 

The proposal respects the original composition and ornamentation of the building. Beyond the work itself of cleaning up the masonry and repairing or replacing the plastering, it is proposed to make the building unique by means of a monochrome treatment of the façade. This gives it a certain abstraction by applying a whitish colour to the whole, both to the plastering and to the veil that covers the masonry. The new dark-coloured metal carpentry is set back, taking advantage of the width of the wall, enhancing the depth of the openings in the masonry walls. 

Photography: Josema Cutillas (https://www.josemacutillas.com/)