Reus, Tarragona, Spain
Josep Ferrando Bramona, David Recio Muniesa, and Xavier Gallego Seuba from the firms Josep Ferrando Architecture and Gallego Arquitectura have transformed a former Catalonian prison and a former public school into a social center that comprises a shelter for the homeless, a soup kitchen, and a community space, bringing together all the social services of the city together as one and making it the first facility of its kind in Spain.
The intervention by the architects establishes a game in its aesthetic composition and scales as they propose a contrast of light and innovative elements with the consolidated and heavy elements of the old building.
The El Roser Social Center is located in the building of the former Reus remand prison, a building listed as a BCIL (Cultural Asset of Local Interest) and belonging to the Architectural Heritage Inventory of Catalonia.
The intervention by the architects establishes a game in its aesthetic composition and scales as they propose a contrast of light and innovative elements with the consolidated and heavy elements of the old building.
The El Roser Social Center is located in the building of the former Reus remand prison, a building listed as a BCIL (Cultural Asset of Local Interest) and belonging to the Architectural Heritage Inventory of Catalonia.
The project respects and recovers the original building, uncovering its structure and the constructive typology of the period, hidden until now, to evoke an image of austerity.
The intervention works on different scales.
On the one hand, a dialectic is established between the new elements, of a more ethereal, light, and tectonic character, contrasting with the composition and the stereotomic mineral materials of the existing, heavier structure.
On the other hand, the geometry of the “H” plan, which surrounds two courtyards, has new transversal openings that, through the visuals, permeabilize it in a “Palladian” way, eliminating the airtightness of the spaces.
The reading, functioning, and routes of the building’s interior are thus rethought, at the same time as it is also done at the urban level, altering the relationship with its immediate surroundings.
While the original prison was accessed from the main road through a monumental gateway with minimal sidewalk space, the proposal eliminates the wall that limited the courtyard of the prison building, turning it into an open public space given over to the city, allowing passersby to become aware of the facility through the continuity of its facades.
A slender steel structure becomes a gesture that recalls the now absent wall while stitching together three different historical periods.
In turn, the preservation of the monumental portal bears witness to the missing wall and enhances the heritage value of the facility.
On another, more domestic scale, elements such as windows, wet cores, etc. are introduced by tangency reinforcing the idea of palimpsest.
Project: El Roser Social Center
Architects: Josep Ferrando Architecture and Gallego Arquitectura
Lead Designers: Josep Ferrando Bramona, David Recio Muniesa, and Xavier Gallego Seuba
Design Team: Arnau Sumalla, Àlex Font, Ilaria Caprioli, Albert Chavarria, Youssef Alaa, Farah Bahaa, Min Sung, Ah Rum, Min Seong, Cheng-Pei Lee, Maristella Pinheiro, and Clara Ebert
Technical Architects: Aleix Sanz Capdevila + Iñaki
Technical Architects: Cacho Cervelló
Structure Engineers: Calmat
General Contractor: Vesta Rehabilitacions, SL.
Owners: Reus City Council
Photographers: Adrià Goula
