Retiro Park Pavillion
Madrid, Spain.

We see temporary events within the city as an urban festival: a ‘pagan’ vision of celebration, where to be, to see, to listen, to share is part of the ritual. We believe that a building should reflect this dualism. The project seeks to portray something recognizable, powerful but not reckless, expressing the dual understanding of the function of the building and incorporating the benefits of a privileged location: The Retiro Park.
In order to define a cultural space which responds in a simple way to the needs of a demarcated auditorium with a controlled climate and an easily accessible public exhibition space, the project opens up to the park whilst remaining within an envelope which delimits it spatially and gives it scale. The colonnaded structure, which depicts the trees in the surrounding landscape, frames an internal yet totally open space intended for quiet contemplation, discussion and possible open air events, mixing the institutional function of the pavilion with daily life in the park.
The project includes the inherent constraints of budget and execution deadlines. It uses as many prefabricated elements as possible, such as stairs, furniture and awnings. It also controls energy consumption through the use of the structure and awnings which create a closed, compact auditorium and exhibition space. The circulation system is extremely simple, facilitating entry to the pavilion and allowing controlled access to the auditorium. Whilst the structure reflects a complete openness to the public and the park, the pavilion’s compact base allows it to close completely at night. The contrast of the two spaces gives the pavilion the solidity needed for an intervention exposed to a large flow of pedestrian traffic as well as offering the spatial quality of a privileged observatory of the park and its foliage.

 

Avenir #1a ppal 1a,
08006 Barcelona
Tlaxcala 180 PB, 06170
México D.F.