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Project: Dal Bat Showroom, Granada/Spain
Third prize of Category "Shops/Showrooms/Exhibition stands"
The Dal Bat Showroom was created by converting two ground-floor rooms in a 19th century building for new use. The surrounding urban environment, currently a development area, is characterized by solid masonry construction reinforced by timber framing. The use of these buildings has changed repeatedly over the years. So as the architect points out, the present use of this particular building is only a passing episode in its history, which is why the first intervention in 2004 very much emphasized the existing fabric and kept the necessary additions to a bare minimum. When the premises were extended two years later, a very different approach was adopted. This time the existing fabric has been overlaid with different types of glass, producing a variety of optical and tactile effects. The translucent glass lets light glow through and allows the observer to read the materials behind it, thus giving visual form and presence to the history of the space - dramatizing it, in effect.
The jury's verdict:
"Through a process of dialectical juxtaposition the project demonstrates two entirely opposing strategies for dealing with the fabric of historic buildings, both of which transform the space - by subtraction in one case, and by addition in the other. This is an instructive example of how to build within an existing urban fabric that the city is continuing to develop, without either eradicating its past or turning it into a heritage theme park."
Website: www.antoniojimeneztorrecillas.com
