Abstract:

Granada is a city shaped by tensions between safeguarding and recreation, where historical monuments coexist with contemporary urban life. This project responds to that condition through the transformation of the V Centenario building, a monumental 20th-century structure that had become physically and socially detached from its neighborhood.

Rather than erasing its past, the intervention operates through a strategy of selective subtraction, using the original load-bearing system as the foundation from which new volumes emerge. This approach enables freer movement and creates spatial intervals capable of accommodating diverse programs. At the center of the proposal, a public garden forms the core of the complex: a neutral, contemplative space enclosed by the building that buffers the intensity of the bustling city beyond its walls. Designed to improve microclimatic conditions, the garden reconnects the building with the San Lázaro district.

By introducing a lightweight steel structure and a permeable façade in dialogue with the existing masonry, the project establishes a dynamic relationship between inherited form and contemporary everyday use. Formerly rigid interiors are reorganized into singular spaces fitted by gradients of privacy, supporting a wide range of users and activities.

The project reframes the building as a living organism: a place where history, community, and landscape intersect. Reclaiming a forgotten architectural gem as a shared ground for collective life.