Assembly, Burgohondo, Ávila
New construction for a Cultural and Religious Center
location: Burgohondo, Ávila, Castilla y Léon, Spain
year: 2004-
type: direct commission upon interview
status: in process
area: 780 m2
client: POHUVIPRE
team: Navadijos Tarsoly arquitectos: Eduardo Navadijos, Csaba Tarsoly, Joao Gomes Leitao, Aurélie Maestre, María Dolores Sanchez García, Roberto Sánchez Castro, Aldo Trim
rammed earth specialist: Martin Rauch
structural engineer: Jürg Conzett, BAC ecg Madrid
cost consultant: David Gil Zazo
Using the strong inclination of the slope, the auditorium is half dug into the ground. Two parallel walls, a composition of an exterior rammed earth wall and an inner concrete shell, create between each other a surprising, vaulted space, the place of the assembly. The main entry is on the upper part of the walls where they only measure 3.50m of height. The two walls enclose a run of stairs, which leads nine meters down into the ground. Only in the last moment the view opens onto the 12m high assembly space, lit through the gap between the two walls.
The South wall houses between the rammed earth wall and the concrete wall working and service spaces: the library, meeting spaces, computers, and spaces for individual and group work. The North wall remains empty.
Structurally the rammed earth wall and the concrete wall form a unity. Concrete boxes span between the two walls and stabilize them mutually. These boxes penetrate the rammed earth wall and create the only big openings of the façade. In the remaining spaces wooden floors, ceilings and walls are introduced. As all the structural elements remain without facing, they are experienced in the spatial sequence throughout the building.