The building sits on a dune system that is separated from the beach by a sand base that reaches thirty metres in height. This is an isolated and unique building, half buried with respect to the highest points of the site, in this way seeking its own place in the landscape. A geometrically complex floor, intercepted by a homogeneous section, creates the interior spaces needed to house a small museum dedicated to the marine world.
The entrance hall is accessed by means of a portico at the start of the long hall to which are connected several adjacent rooms dedicated to specific issues related to the sea. From this said hall -lit from below by light reflecting off the waterthe visitor accesses the other complementary spaces. The return route runs through the large room by means of a somewhat elevated walkway, which allows for a better view of the exhibits. It will only be at the end of the tour when the visitor discovers the linear pool of water in which the light is reflected.
The formal and functional diversity of the different areas that make up the Centre are unified by a roof that, with its distinct slopes, establishes relationships with the surrounding dune landscape. The expressiveness of the floor, at the intersection with the inclined plane, is manifested on the roof by meansof a broken edge that draws the volume of the building.
Client:
State-owned enterprise EGMASA
Address:
Carretera A-494 Km 51, Doñana National Park. 21760 Almonte. Huelva, España
Typology:
Landscape, Museums & Galleries, Research
Status:
Built
Competition:
1999
Construction:
1999-2001
Implementation:
2001
Cruz y Ortiz Arquitectos
Collaborators:Belén Rivera, María Arboledas Cique
Lightning design:GADIAN
Landscape:Lado Verde, Ricardo Librero
Model:Queipo Maquetas
Photography:Duccio Malagamba, Fernando Alda, Fotowork (model)
Structural engineering:Tedeco Ingenieros
Climate engineering:GADIAN
Survey:Cruz y Ortiz Arquitectos
Site control:Análisis de Edificación y Construcción
Contractors:EGMASA
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