This is what Malaga’s future dance and culture centre in Plaza de la Merced site will look like
By Mas Property
on Wed May 22 2024
The Barcelona firm Barozzi Veiga has designed a building covered in stone with a large multi-purpose hall for the site of the old Astoria cinema.
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Barozzi Veiga, an architecture firm from Barcelona, has been declared by Malaga city hall as the winner of the competition organised a year ago to design the construction of a stage and cultural centre on the site of the Astoria and Victoria cinemas in Plaza de la Merced.
With 20 years’ experience in the construction of similar cultural facilities in other cities in Europe and Spain, for which they have received several awards, these architects have proposed a rectangular building for the site.
On the limestone façade, they propose a series of terraces that open inwards, acting as viewpoints overlooking the Plaza de la Merced, and the Calle Victoria and Alcazabilla. Inside, there will be a main entrance hall with access from Plaza de María Guerrero and the corner with Plaza de la Merced, from which it will be possible to enter a large multi-purpose hall that can be used as a theatre or to host events and conferences.
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The multi-purpose hall can seat 650 people, or 800 if the seating is removed, including on some upper balconies.
On the basement floor, the archaeological remains that were discovered on the site have been integrated and can be visited. There are also spaces there for a cloakroom and toilets for the public, as well as dressing rooms.
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In the northern part of the building there are also the facilities of the choreography centre requested by the city council, which will have a private access, with offices on the second floor, and rooms and dressing rooms on the fourth floor. Specifically, it will have a 150-square-metre hall and another 60-square-metre hall. On this upper floor, which reaches a height of 18.5 metres, to match the buildings on the north façade of the Plaza de la Merced, there is also a large upper terrace area that can be used as a bar.
Fabrizio Barozzi, one of the founders of the architecture firm together with Galician Alberto Veiga, told SUR they decided to enter the competition because his wife, architect Cecilia Rueda Ruiz, who also works with them, is from Malaga. «We had never entered a competition in which the economic proposal was also valued, but in this case Malaga is a city I know well, we are very familiar with the environment, what has improved and the difficulties it has, so winning this competition makes us very excited,» Barozzi said.
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With regard to their proposal, he said they have tried to make it «very measured, sensitive and respectful of the heritage environment», which is why they have chosen stone for its cladding. «It is a serene, discreet and simple proposal that seeks to complete the urban landscape, not to make an isolated object,» the architect added.
He also said the main entrance to the building is located towards Calle Granada and Alcazabilla as these are the main access routes to the area. He also pointed out the centre offers the possibility of opening it up and connecting it with the central pedestrian area of the Plaza de la Merced by means of a large glass window on the ground floor.
Source: SUR in English, May 2024