We designed a Cultural Center that met the needs of the neighborhood in which it was located, but also aimed to become a cultural reference center for the city of Murcia and its surroundings. Therefore, without inflating the program requested by the city, and without structural or decorative displays, we designed a building capable of fulfilling these objectives. For example, the exhibition hall could host an exhibit of local watercolorists, but it would have the lighting, climate control, and security conditions that would allow it to accommodate an exhibition subject to the high standards typically found in major galleries worldwide. The same criteria were applied to the libraries, the assembly hall... and the rest of the building.

The program for the Cultural Center included very spacious rooms: the assembly hall, exhibition hall, and libraries. To make these spaces open-plan, it was necessary to have spans above the structural grid of 7.5 x 7.5 meters, which, starting from the parking floors, supported the entire building. For this reason, it was very convenient to locate these rooms on the upper floor, where the structure only had to support the roof, allowing for large spans without problem. Additionally, this location allowed for skylight illumination through sheds –a type of lighting highly advisable for most of these spaces. Thus, we placed the large rooms under the roof. However, since the building could not be developed entirely at ground level, we had to place smaller spaces (offices, classrooms...) on the lower floors, and we also had to ensure that a large public could access these public spaces comfortably and clearly. For this reason, we located the exhibition hall on the ground floor, the library on the first floor, and the assembly hall on the second; and we connect them all by means of a wide, very flat and unidirectional staircase.

This staircase became the building’s main feature, defining the south facade and functionally acting as the backbone of the system –a circulation and resting space open to the sun and the park views. It is a public, open space that takes advantage of the excellent climate of Murcia.

We studied a structure made of large prefabricated concrete beams with a V-shaped section, which allowed for the creation of longitudinal skylights. These sophisticated light wells provided rich, filtered light, as sunlight always entered reflected, never directly. A roof and skylights designed specifically for the dazzling Mediterranean light.

The north facade could appear extremely unusual and original. Since the large rooms had zenithal lighting, this facade only needed openings on the lower floors. This feature, along with the jagged, ascending profile at the top and the arboreal arrangement of the rainwater downspouts, created a very distinctive facade that could give character to a street that had previously been rather soulless.

The south facade overlooked the park. The longitudinal body was characterized by the diagonal of the staircase and the upper brise-soleil. This enormous blind provided shade to the staircase and corridors, and, higher up, it concealed the air conditioning units. 

In the protruding part of the building, there were the large windows 0f the bar (on the ground floor), of the classrooms (on the first and second floors), and the small windows for the plastic arts workshop (under the roof).

The east-facing facade, on Avenida Miguel de Cervantes, is the most public. It was enlivened by the bar’s porch, the opening aligned with the staircase, and the set of windows along the staircase.

The west-facing facade is extremely hot in the afternoons, the worst orientation for these latitudes. That is why we made it so opaque, with very few and small openings.

The construction was carried out under our direction, respecting the project. However, we were unable to influence the interior furnishings, and the proposed urban planning for the surrounding area was not carried out.