Centro Abierto de Actividades Ciudadanas by ParedesPino Studio
ParedesPino Architects have completed the Centro Abierto de Actividades Ciudadanas (CAAC) project in Cordoba, Spain.
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Description from the architects:
Its location close to the railway station of the AVE high speed train in Cordoba city can take advantage of this gap as a unique opportunity, giving the character and scale necessary to assume as a new focus of interest not only confined to the neighborhood, but as a magnet in conjunction with the city.
We opted for a solution that allows a wide variety of uses. It offers a covered area, protected from the weather, which will house a temporary market two days a week and other activities at other times.
It therefore poses a solution based on prefabricated circular elements that vary in height and diameter and arranged in a flexible manner to allow a similar vision of an urban forest of shadows. The parasols also solve the artificial lighting in the same item and allow drainage of water inside.
You can watch some short videos on YouTube about the project here and here.
Location: Córdoba, Spain
Competition: 2004.09
Project: 2007.05
Construction: 2010.04
Developer: Procórdoba. Proyectos de Córdoba Siglo XXI
Architect: Fernando G. Pino, Manuel G. de Paredes
Collaborators: Raquel Blasco Fraile and David Pérez Herranz
Consultants:
Rafael Pérez Morales (dirección de ejecución / xxxx)
Robert Brufau, Xavier Aguiló, María José Camporro, BOMA S.L. (estructuras / structures)
ARGU, Ingeniería (instalaciones / mechanical engineering)
Contractor: Ferrovial
Built Area: Area de actuación 11.920 m2. Superficie cubierta 6.922 m2
Budget: 3.26 Million Euros
Photographs: Jorge López Conde and Paredes Pino
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Nico on 26 Aug 2010 at 10:06 am #
I don’t like it at all. In my opinion, this is a huge waste of money.
Why not make a park? With big trees instead of those ugly umbrellas…
amor poligonero on 26 Aug 2010 at 11:13 am #
Estupendo proyecto. Felicidades!
F-J on 26 Aug 2010 at 2:13 pm #
I must agree with Nico; The land should have been designated for a living park.
Miss Honey on 26 Aug 2010 at 2:45 pm #
I understand they wanted a covered area, but these “circular elements” does nothing for me. It looks really cheap.
Es la peor idea que he visto en mi vida, lo siento por la gente de cordoba. Pudieron haber hecho algo mas original que unas simples sombrillas =/
Mel on 26 Aug 2010 at 6:42 pm #
Love the look!
It would be even greater if they were equipped with solar panels that plugged into the power grid and/or charged the artificial lights for nightfall.
yet on 27 Aug 2010 at 12:42 am #
Poor people from cordoba.
They already had to face the railway in very cheap and ugly buildings, now they also have to deal with this awful & cheap mushroom forest.
Again another architect megalomaniac project just to be noticed on Google earth… what about the human being living conditions ? what about green, fresh air, nice view and community feeling ?
Jonathan on 27 Aug 2010 at 1:53 am #
@ Nico… Perhaps because it’s conceived as a city square which holds the twice weekly market and ‘other activities’ which don’t work so well in a grass field full of trees…?
David on 27 Aug 2010 at 1:50 pm #
That’s a lot of disc. Maybe if half of the area was open grass, it would work well. How about disc around the perimeter and grass in the middle for croquet or bocce.
The solar panel idea that Mel mentioned is a good idea.
Arlo on 28 Aug 2010 at 2:42 am #
I think it’s fun.
TW on 28 Aug 2010 at 3:54 pm #
That all just seems like a waste – a waste of design energy, a waste of materials, a waste of space etc.
Perhaps a few would have been fun and cute. But there are so many of them that they have lost their chance to be interesting and instead are plain ugly.
J.L.McDonnell on 29 Aug 2010 at 2:44 am #
I think it is a very unique and quite marketable way to use space. Think of it as a practical park… The first think I saw was a music festival venue, I mean what a safe way to hold a large group of people… easy way to install security cameras. Think about how much space stadiums take up?
Nico on 30 Aug 2010 at 6:10 am #
@ Jonathan… I’ve seen a lot of parks (with trees, etc.) used as markets with both temporary and permanent facilities for the shops. Here in Buenos Aires there’s a lot of these week-end markets. Now imagine you were running one of those market shops in that “mushroom forest” in the Cordobese summer… hot weather isn’t it? Plants and trees absorb heat from the ambient and help keep the air cool, whereas paved areas (even with those umbrellas) will be extremely hot (anybody from Cordoba here?)
Richa on 30 Aug 2010 at 9:31 pm #
It seems to be a wonderful idea to develop an urban space. With its attractive colors and playful form it is bound to attract people, at first out of curiosity if nothing else. Then the success of the place depends upon the activities planned there or the facilities (seating, basic amenities etc) provided for the people to plan it themselves.
UvaBe on 06 Sep 2010 at 9:34 am #
maybe some climate appropriate native plants could be added to the roofs. Nothing that needs watering like grass, but small “ground cover” plants, a couple inches of green, those things look sturdy enough and green roofs last longer then traditional roofing materials.
Garima Gatne on 06 Oct 2010 at 9:52 am #
Its quite attractive..but def they cudve added much more to it…considering the scale is quite large..some other forms for different but related activity…