Immerse in one of the exceptional natural spots common to the province of Gerona, the town of Olot is particularly careful when it comes to its expansion on the surrounding areas in order to avoid destroying on its growth that which constitutes one of its most valuable goods, its natural landscapes. In the area knows as Tussols-Basil – situated between the city and the rural green park which runs along the river bed – a series of installations devoted to leisure and sports constitute the municipal project that tries to outline the encounter of the natural park and the urban fabric. To the partially completed path and the initially built swimming pavilion, an athletics track has been added and in a near future a football field will be built: two installations whose large extension set out from the very beginning a series of problems concerning their adequate location.

In two clearings of the woods of white oak, the athletics track and the soccer field align their axis in parallel sliding between one another to reduce their visual impact, separated by a tongue of land of volcanic origin. The recently concluded process of construction of the athletics track was accompanied by the controversy arisen among local ecologists – who wanted to preserve each and every one of the existing vegetal species – and the athletes who considered the trees a visual obstacle for the development of the sports events. The executed proposal pursues an intermediate solution between these positions, keeping the most valuable oak trees at the center of the track in such a way that the circuit advances amidst the light filtered through the branches, transforming the short and medium distance competitions in an experience of immersion into nature, something close to cross-country races.

La entrada Athletics Stadium se publicó primero en Global Spaces.

Acquired in 2004 in a state of ruin, over stages the old Barberí foundry has gradually become RCR Arquitectes’ studio. The past of this factory building, constructed at the beginning of the twentieth century, is evident everywhere and establishes a very close relationship with new interventions.

The connection between tradition and innovation, together with other core concepts of the RCR philosophy like relating to the outdoors and reflecting the passage of time, has given rise to an ensemble that combines different spaces and uses.

The renovation work, which has been under way since 2006, consolidated the former complex and reorganised the existing industrial buildings, transforming them into a laboratory that meets their studio’s various needs.

Text provided by the architect.

La entrada Espai Barberí se publicó primero en Global Spaces.

When RCR Arquitectes was asked to transform a historical building in Girona, Spain, into a modern house now called Casa Entremuros, their only constraint was to keep the entrance overlooking the street and the perimeter walls. They were then free to let their imagination run wild. And needless to say, they went fairly far.

The conception of the Casa Entremuros is groundbreaking. It relies on a theatrical metaphor. Two corridors on the sides surround an immense central space divided into different levels and heights. This is the stage. It’s facing a huge glass wall, meaning that this main volume is visible from the garden. From the outside, the house looks like an amphitheater with the garden as spectator seating. The little scenes of life that take place within the divided interior spaces seem interconnected, and yet, privacy is still an option thanks to clever organization. Everything has been made so that the various areas cannot directly overlook one another.

La entrada Entremuros house se publicó primero en Global Spaces.