The Caja de Ahorros de Nuestra Señora de Monserrate building renovation by Galiano Garrigós Arquitectos, presented technical and architectural challenges to a building that had undergone significant architectural modifications over time. The design proposes a cultural use for the west building, including the operations courtyard, the main staircase, and the auditorium. This is complemented by a complete renovation of the east building, which will house municipal offices. On the ground floor, the historic warehouse space, featuring buried clay amphorae, is preserved, while the Conservatory classrooms are restored on the second floor.
At the facade level, the original openings of the apartments that form part of the complex are restored, subtly integrating the dominant facades into the historic center of Orihuela. Inside, light colours, white, and transparency predominate, aiming to enhance the visual comfort of both employees and visitors.
Rehabilitation of the old "Caja de Ahorros de Nuestra Señora de Monserrate" by Galiano Garrigós Arquitectos. Photograph by David Frutos.
Project description by Galiano Garrigós Arquitectos
A Brief History of the Building
The building of the former Savings Bank of Our Lady of Monserrate encapsulates the evolution of the city of Orihuela since the 11th century, when the population descended from the slopes of Mount San Miguel and settled on the banks of the Segura River.
Based on the urban layout from the Almohad period, which has endured to this day, the building's current appearance has been shaped by the addition of buildings, resulting in significant architectural modifications, some of which remain preserved in walls and hidden spaces.
Originally a block of houses, part of the building became a noble residence, complemented by warehouses linked to the Palace of the Count of Pinohermoso and the Cathedral. In the 19th century, it became the headquarters of a social foundation, an image preserved in the large ballroom on the first floor, which was hidden during its adaptation as the headquarters of the Savings and Relief Bank of Our Lady of Monserrate. This adaptation, carried out between 1931 and 1933, gave it the 19th-century appearance it has today, which can be seen in the courtyard, main staircase, and auditorium. At the same time, the façade of the old warehouse was completed, and the residences for the bank manager and the caretaker were built.
In the 1960s, further residential buildings were added to the warehouse, and two floors were constructed in a very precarious manner above them, utilizing load-bearing walls and adding hollow brick walls at higher levels with wooden joist and brick floors, with the aim of converting it into a music conservatory. The conservatory occupied the spaces abandoned by the bank, and municipal uses were also added when the conservatory moved to another building in 2002. In 2011, the building underwent partial rehabilitation, introducing a cultural use in the former savings bank courtyard and a tourist information office in the space of the old warehouse. The rest of the building remained unused until 2019, when the Orihuela City Council, as part of its strategy for the rehabilitation of the historic center, proposed its renovation to convert it into a mixed-use space, combining cultural activities and offices. The aim was to increase activity in the area and attract residents to a part of the city that was suffering from serious neglect.
Building Description
Compositionally, the former headquarters of the Caja de Ahorros de Ntra. Sra. de Monserrate (Savings Bank of Our Lady of Monserrate) is divided into two parallel buildings oriented north-south, with their shorter southern side facing the Plaza de Ramón Sije (traditionally known as “La Pía”), where they have two distinct façades. On the west side is the façade of the former Caja de Ahorros de Ntra. Sra. de Monserrate, and on the east side is the addition made during the renovation of the old warehouse to improve its urban presence. Between the two is a very narrow passageway whose original function was to provide cross-ventilation to the warehouses.
The building to the east has two floors and housed the management and representative offices of the Savings Bank. The ground floor contained the trading floor, now the Museum of the Roman Centuria of Holy Week in Orihuela. At the rear was the municipal archaeological storage facility in an annexed building, which later became the site of one of the city's most important archaeological discoveries. The first floor housed the Savings Bank's management offices and the Assembly Hall.
The building to the west has three floors and housed warehouses on the ground floor and the Tourist Office after the renovation of one of its wings. It is in this area that a group of buried earthenware jars used for storing grain are found. The director's residence was on the first floor, and the caretaker's residence on the second. The conservatory then occupied the remaining space on these floors at the rear. The addition of several residential buildings, the joining of the two buildings, and the construction of the conservatory created a chaotic circulation system that hampered the building's operation.
In terms of facades, the complex clearly focuses on the Plaza de Ramón Sijé, as the facades in this area have a distinct style, while the rest is a functional consequence of the interior spaces, modifying the original openings of the residential buildings that were added to the complex. Inside, the area representing the Savings Bank presents a very different image from the rest of the building. Renovated in 1933, it is in a 19th-century style, far removed from modernist or modernist trends. The image of the courtyard, the main staircase, and the auditorium, crowned by a large painted plaster coffered ceiling, is particularly striking.
Intervention Proposal
When undertaking an intervention in such a historically complex building, a challenge arises that is not only technical but also architectural. Given the many versions of the building, choosing which moment in its history to present can become a debate that may lead to its rejection by those accustomed to seeing an image that forms part of their historical memory.
In this case, the discovery during the project phase of the Foundation's former ballroom, partitioned during the building's adaptation for a savings bank, came as a surprise to the Orihuela City Council, which was unaware of its existence and did not realize its size until after construction had begun. The importance of this space leads to the proposal of a cultural use for the west building, along with the courtyard, the main staircase, and the auditorium.
The eastern building, of lesser historical value, was completely renovated to house municipal offices and provided the complex with the necessary vertical circulation and services for its operation. However, the historic warehouse space containing the buried clay amphorae was preserved on the ground floor, and a large space on the second floor, formerly housing the Conservatory classrooms in a compartmentalized fashion, was restored, preserving the original wooden trusses.
At this point in its history, the building was cleared of inappropriate elements and adapted to comply with current regulations, with improved circulation and reinforced structural elements. Thus, a new entrance was created in the central part of the eastern building on Subida de San Antonio Street, leading to the main vertical circulation core and a centralized restroom and utility area that is replicated on all floors. Office spaces, predominantly open-plan offices, were arranged on either side. Along with this administrative entrance, the east building retains the access point created during the construction of this section of the building, which forms the main façade and provides access to the wine cellar. The west building, on the other hand, maintains its original entrances, staircase, and circulation routes, depending entirely on the east building for its operation. A walkway has been created to connect it to the vertical circulation core of the east building.
At the façade level, the design returns to a state prior to the building's conversion into a Conservatory, restoring the original openings of the apartments that form part of the complex. These openings, in their seemingly random arrangement, blend with the dominant façades of Orihuela's historic center. These openings are emphasized by the use of dark surrounds that contrast with the smooth, solid surface of the façades. Furthermore, a distinct image is restored for each of the buildings that have formed part of the complex through the use of different colors, highlighting the original volume of the dwellings that have been added over time. The original base and height are also restored, and the building is differentiated from the conservatory extension by a stringcourse that runs horizontally along the east façade.
Inside, the office spaces are designed to blend seamlessly with the numerous preserved historical elements. Light colors, white, and transparency are prioritized to enhance the visual comfort of both employees and visitors.
The Restoration
In this building, we must speak not only of rehabilitation but also of the restoration of many known or newly discovered heritage elements. The sometimes chaotic addition of residential buildings and the construction of the Conservatory on top of them has made working on the structure a challenge. The reuse of load-bearing walls and the existence of wooden floors of different types, even within the same hall, as well as modern floors without any maintenance, has led to the use of structural reinforcements of all kinds. Starting with micro-piling and soil improvement injections, it has been necessary to encase load-bearing walls and reinforce all types of floors, including the individual replacement of floor joists that supported historic elements impossible to dismantle. Inside, the building also boasts a wide array of wooden joinery with leaded glass and wrought iron elements that have been restored, and historic flooring has been recovered in some areas of the building.
The Surprises
Given such a rich history, the building has yielded some surprises during its rehabilitation. Undoubtedly, the most important discovery is a complete Almohad house, unearthed during the archaeological excavation. The characteristics of the urban layout, preserved since the 12th century, its location on a slope, and the fossilization of the land division, have allowed for the discovery of tall walls that have been preserved because the house's floor plan corresponds to a later construction, which then became a municipal archaeological storage facility. It can therefore be stated that this house, which forms part of the complex, was first built in the 12th century.
Another surprise is the appearance of fossilized arches in the load-bearing walls of both the east and west buildings. A large, possibly collapsed, segmental arch stands out in the east building, corresponding to the former storage area. In the west building, it is noteworthy that the arches, possibly from the 17th century, are found on both the ground and first floors. Unfortunately, in this case, only one of them could be restored, as subsequent interventions destroyed its structural elements, making it impossible to recover its load-bearing function.
The final surprise is located in the ballroom on the first floor of the west wing. Hidden during the building's conversion into a savings bank, it was discovered during the project's drafting phase when a missing space was detected during data collection. Its restoration has transformed it into one of the most attractive spaces due to its size and potential use for the community. During the restoration, it was discovered that its roof had been replaced using wood from Virginia tobacco boxes dating back to 1895.
Conclusion
After a lengthy process that began in 2019, this renovation has attempted to exemplify the necessary balance between preserving heritage, highlighting existing ornamental elements and construction traditions, adapting to current technical and functional needs, urban integration, and ultimately, defining a harmonious, integrated, and representative composition that lends unity and meaning to the whole.
