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The building is located in Almonte (Huelva), on the site of an old winery. It has the challenge of integrate the existing old buildings, declared as cultural interest, and being part of a cultural complex of a total of three buildings and a common space. This space turns into the main place of the town and an important meeting area.

An opportunity to work on light, material and space. The path chosen to work on these concepts, is the contrast. Contrast between outside and inside, between old and new, including a monumental scale and human scale. And the journey as the thread that sews and explains the intervention. A large area covered with large proportions and controlled height works as a high threshold. A monumental scale lobby welcomes the visitor showing the scale of a public building.

Theatre in Almonte - Theatre in Almonte, Huelva, by Donaire Arquitectos

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Casa Batlló, built between 1904 and 1906 in the heart of Barcelona (Spain), is the most emblematic work of the brilliant Catalan architect.

Gaudí gave Casa Batlló a facade that is original, fantastical and full of imagination. He replaced the original facade with a new composition of stone and glass. He ordered the external walls to be redesigned to give them a wavy shape, which was then plastered with lime mortar and covered with a mosaic of fragments of coloured glass and ceramic discs.

Casa Batlló is a key feature in the architecture of modernist Barcelona. Nowadays, the spectacular facade is an iconic landmark in the city. The "Manzana de la Discordia", or Block of Discord, is a series of buildings in Passeig de Gràcia. It is home to a collection of works by the most renowned architects, amongst which is Casa Batlló. The house, now a museum, is open to the public, both for cultural visits and for celebrating events in its splendid modernist function rooms.

casa Batlló.jpg5  - Casa Batlló, Gaudí's Architectural Treasure in Barcelona, Spain

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The lovely Bilbao Arena lies on ancient iron mines, close to the old part of the town in Bilbao (Basque Country, Spain). It offers a sports center, a restaurant, a court that can be used by locals and players too and more. The Bilbao Arena is split into two: at the very top of the structure it encloses so it shuns away the noise coming from Bilbao Basket while the bottom of the building is occupied by the sports center.

The design of the entire project is interesting since the Bilbao Arena is meant to look as a tree. Its façade has a metal structure with painted steel sheets that hide the metal components that are found in the arena. The façade is permeable and the corridors don`t require air conditioning or ventilation and the design of the building allows a clear exit if a fire bursts out.

The limestone in the area inspired the designers to paint the sports center in a similar colour and the shape of the sports center looks just like a rock. The three spaces of this center communicate between them in cascade and they also offer access to the swimming pool, gym and parking zone.

Bilbao Arena 2 - Contemporary Architecture in Spain: Bilbao Arena
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This 22 level building, called Mirador, is located in Sanchinarro, a residential suburb on the north east edge of Madrid surrounded by highways and with views towards the Guadarrama Mountains. The most impressive element of the building is the incredible gap of it shape, which acts as a frame for the distant landscape. The large communal plaza and lookout at 40 m above the ground is meant to be used by the neighborhood as a meeting area and playground. The Mirador contains a wide variety of compact housing types, in total 156 units. The architects created a distinctive silhouette by grouping nine blocks. The articulation of these blocks is apparent in the exterior palette, equal parts stone, concrete and tile. The strips of red indicate the corridors. The way the nine blocks are stacked and glued together, they make up a new towering impressive 'superblock' (MVRDV). Blanca Lleó asociados from Madrid were responsible for directing the works.

El mirador de Sanchinarro - Architecture: El Mirador de Sanchinarro, Madrid
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The mountain with its historic cathedral Seu Vella and the Segre River marks the high point and low point of Lleida (Lerida), the second city of Catolonia, following Barcelona. La Llotja theatre and conference center sits on the banks of the Segre, somewhat outside the centre of the city. Mecanoo’s design interprets the landscape of Lleida as the exciting scenery before which the building has been placed, somewhat further from the river. The mise-en-scène is elaborated on three levels of scale. Regarded from the large scale of the region, the building forms a link between the river and the mountain. Viewed from the urban scale, La Llotja and the river form a balanced composition. At street level the cantilevers of La Llotja de Lleida provide protection from sun and rain.

124 - La Llotja theatre and conference centre Lleida, Spain

510 - La Llotja theatre and conference centre Lleida, Spain
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