This building is, without doubt, a parasite.
The building is place on the south side of the hill of Monteagudo and it is the first phase of a project that has its principal focus on the restoration of the castle of Monteagudo.
The slope of the mountain is a territory historically occupied since Prehistory with remains that date from the Argaric culture, through Roman and Arab civilizations.
In particular, the site chosen for the Visitors Center has some Argaric huts in good state of preservation and a Roman road and some small walls.
In the same place is located the shrine of San Cayetano from the XVIII century, that gives a certain character to the site.
The building we have proposed tries to adapt to the multiple context inputs and the preservation of the remains. It also focus on the consolidation of the place from both formal and dimensional points of view, with special attention to integration into the hillside and its vision from the castle.
The building is a trip and a parasite bloodsucking the mountain. As a route, it resolves the accesses through ramps that settle accessibility question and the integration of the piece in the environment. As a parasite, getting camouflaged in colors and shapes is cover with calligraphic skin that covers the building as a whole.
The ground floor has a public condition open to the neighbors. Its steel lattice worked walls, sometimes sliding, and the rooms rudely built with concrete provide shelter and connects to the outside.
It is a place in the shade.
On the upper floor the permanent and temporary showrooms are arranged in a closed and tight place, which is open in a careful way to the best views of the valley and the castle.
About construction subjects, the building, on the ground floor, the structure is solved with exposed concrete and metalshutters. In the top floor it works with a steel structure that solves the long spans and is cover with a multiple sheets panels that is sealed with a heated waterproofing. Finally, is covered with a skin of perforated Cor-Ten steel, which works as final layer in a trans-ventilated facade that takes up that old matter about clima and context.
