This refurbishment project of a complex of four buildings, in the old quarter of Vigo, successfully introduces decisions that are unique to the language of contemporary architecture, without sacrificing respect for the heritage of the existing elements.
The urban ensemble comprising these four buildings in the old town of Vigo is organised by way of a “distributing patio-cloister”, made up of the previous patios, giving it a public scale and identity and allowing for a single slope to resolve the four levels of the existing buildings.
The patio connects the building with the surrounding streets at different heights, while the main entrance is the connecting point between new and old architecture. It is where the public scale appears, in the shape of a double-height space which gives presence to the common patio from the street, recovering to this end the idea of an entrance atrium, an intermediate between the city and the building.
The preserved façades are occasionally panelled in some places, creating wooden flared niches in the gaps with the aim of maximizing natural light in the interior spaces. The new parts of the façade, such as the roof, are in zinc, and in the patio the glass gallery with protective, mobile wooden slats optimize the use of space as well as the illumination and ventilation of the offices. The roof, without sacrificing the sense of unity of each of the four units, rests on the party walls, creating a utilitarian whole which generates a space that varies in section, transporting the spatial richness of the section of the sloped roof towards the interior.
The paving and seating in certain public areas have been recovered as an extension of the outdoor urban area. Where technical flooring was not specified, a polished concrete floor with aluminium brackets was employed, following the pattern of the beams. The drywall is in made from wooden boards, and the remaining fallen or altered walls are memorialised with visible traces, while the old roof tiles have been reused to finish inaccessible terraces. The newly-built elements as well as the remnants of the process such as cuts in the walls, sporadic reinforcements, etc. have been finished in exposed concrete, which serves to highlight the refurbishment process.
