The proposal is framed within the “Plan of Urban Improvement for the Old Town Center of Valls”. The plan is to build a new municipal library, as well as a residential building, an underground car park and a public space, at the crossroad between the streets of Forn Nou and Sant Pere.

The approaching views are very important and, in our opinion, must be capitalized by the new library. In this way, the library generates the new plaza. We place the housing units facing the street of Sant Pere.

We position the access ramp to the car park at the junction between the two buildings, freeing the public space of this element. The project integrates the pedestrian exits of the parking into the buildings.

Dialogues between limits and the search for the south

We were concerned by providing a pleasant solution to the union between old and new. We believe in the importance to establish an interesting dialogue both between the limits of the intervention and the environment, as well as within the internal limits themselves. Our proposal is to do it through a set of fissures that function as transition holes. Generating these interstices, the buildings approach each other with deference.

Like the vast majority of old towns, that of Valls is predominantly gloomy. The north orientation of both the buildings and the plaza does not help in the improvement of this aspect. In contrast, the center of the block enjoys plenty of sun, thanks to the porosity of the space. We take advantage of the proposed fissures between the buildings to generate leaks of light and sun.

The powerful language of form

Let’s imagine the building as a large stone die that has been sculpted. Through voids and fillings we are giving shape (and response) to the library. The abstract geometries that we generate help us to enhance the presence of equipment within a highly consolidated residential building environment. The powerful beauty of forms seduces the viewer, inviting him to discover what is hidden behind them.

How voids fill the space

Deepen the relationships between spaces. Since the program is developed in height, we wanted to integrate some floors with others by emptying certain areas. This allows us to create visual relationships between floors that share the same use, enhance the volumes within the same building and bring overhead light to intermediate floors … Few times subtracting has added so much!