© Javier Serrano [Flickr], licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
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https://www.archdaily.com/1114771/las-reales-atarazanas-will-be-sevilles-new-cultural-center
The renovation and adaptation project for the Reales Atarazanas of Seville (Spain)—one of the Andalusian capital’s most spectacular architectural spaces, often referred to as the city’s “civil cathedral”—has overcome what appears to be the final hurdle on its path to becoming a landmark cultural center, not only for Andalusia but for all of Spain.
On December 29, during a ceremony held at the Atarazanas itself, an agreement was ratified between the Regional Government of Andalusia, the La Caixa Foundation—responsible for managing the historic building as a cultural space with an investment of over 13 million euros—and Adepa (Association for the Defense of Andalusian Heritage), which had filed a lawsuit against the project in 2016, putting the renovation on hold.
© Javier Serrano [Flickr], licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
In 2009, Sevillian architect Guillermo Vázquez Consuegra won first prize in the national ideas competition to design the new CaixaForum at the Reales Atarazanas of Seville. Since then, the project has faced numerous political, cultural, and financial obstacles. The most recent setback occurred in 2016, when Adepa strongly opposed the renovation project, calling it a “heritage crime,” and successfully halted it in October of that year. Ultimately, Seville’s CaixaForum opened in early 2017 in a completely different location than originally planned, losing the impact of the original site.
This new agreement breaks the deadlock, though the project will undergo several modifications. First, the upper naves planned over the existing structure will be reduced from four to two, preventing the overloading of the 13th-century pillars and avoiding the need to drill into them to install reinforcements.
Second, hotel use on the upper level has been ruled out. The orientation of the entrance to the historic building will also be modified, eliminating the full opening of the side facade as a covered public plaza—which was one of the main draws of the original design. Additionally, the escalators proposed by the architect in one of the naves must be relocated so as not to disrupt the transverse view of the former shipyard’s halls. Finally, only two of the building’s seven naves will be excavated to their original floor level, exposing the immense height of the original industrial space.
© Javier Serrano [Flickr], licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Beyond the financial and political agreements and the project modifications, the most significant outcome is that Seville’s Reales Atarazanas, built in 1252 and declared an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC), will finally be restored. This will rescue the complex from its current state of neglect and abandonment, allowing the public to experience one of the Andalusian city’s most valuable architectural landmarks.
Consequently, taking into account the time needed to incorporate these modifications and process the new project, construction is expected to begin in early 2019 and wrap up in 2021.
Via La Vanguardia and Diario de Sevilla
This article was written by Javier García Librero. The translation is powered by AI.
© Javier Serrano [Flickr], licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
© Javier Serrano [Flickr], licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
© Javier Serrano [Flickr], licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.