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Gymnasium in El Retiro Park
Madrid, Spain. 2002
First Prize. Invited Restricted competition. Area: 700m2CLIENT: Instituto Municipal de Deporte, Ayuntamiento de Madrid
ARCHITECTS: Juan Herreros, Iñaki Abalos
ARCHITECTS IN CHARGE: Ángel Jaramillo
PROJECT TEAM: Fermina Garrido, Renata Sentkiewicz, Jakob Hense
STRUCTURE: Obiol y Moya
Awards
-XVIII Madrid Urbanism, Architecture and Public Works Awards 2003: Public development award
We build a platform at the height of three meters surrounded by trees and enclosed by translucent walls which contain an excavated volume for offices, changing rooms and storage zones on two levels and the single-storey gymnasium which thus has double height and is illuminated from above. The metal mesh system of the façade provides protection for the facilities and allows vegetation to grow all around, wrapping the whole complex. This arrangement permits to use the roof as either an outdoor gymnasium or a tennis court.We want to produce an image similar to vegetated structures with a long tradition in gardening, especially in the Retiro Park, where magnificent spaces have been constructed in the past using trellises and hedges. Emulating these references, the project strives to create a contemporary vision of the pavilion theme in a garden by using an abstract composition with the vegetation outlined on the framework. The construction will thus be a new amalgam of natural and artificial elements, a sculptural composition that will give a unique identity to this part of the park.