The Estaca de Bares lighthouse environment renovation by Carlos Seoane is located at the northernmost point of the Iberian Peninsula, in a stunning natural setting typical of the Galician coast, with stunning views over the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Cantabrian Sea to the east.
Until this intervention, the enjoyment of the site was not guaranteed to everyone as people with mobility impairments could not access it. To address this issue, the project generates flat cobbled surfaces and spaces protected from the presence of cars and strong prevailing winds in the area.
The project included the demolition of an acoustic signal tower in disuse for years, in order to "return to the place its original landscape features". According to the architect, "architecture is subordinated to the landscape and tries to become its framework for its value and protection".
Description of project by Carlos Seoane
The Estaca de Bares lighthouse is a geographically unique point for being the northernmost place of the Iberian Peninsula, but it also stands out for its landscape and heritage values, such as the site of a Celtic castrum just under the lighthouse itself and in its proximity are the remains of an old American base, in addition to anthropological values such as the remains of some old coast mills and an observation post of the passage of migratory birds that enter the peninsula through Estaca de Bares.
The project to organize the surroundings of the Estaca de Bares lighthouse has as its first objective the realization of the necessary works to improve the accessibility of the entire environment and of an existing car park for users with some disability.
The project proposes the adaptation of the space to allow its use for disabled people who, until now had the enjoyment of the place limited to the vision they could have from their own car, being any other point of the lighthouse environment totally inaccessible to them.
Because of this, the project generates flat cobbled surfaces and living spaces protected from the presence of cars and strong prevailing winds in the area, so that the disabled can find their own space from which to participate in the place, a space that is also the most significant space of the proposal and is finally used by all types of users because it is, perhaps, the highest quality area from which to participate in the landscape.
Part of the proposal of this project has also been the demolition of an acoustic signal tower in the vicinity of the lighthouse and in disuse for years, to return to the place its original landscape features.
The project aims to achieve protected spaces of the highest quality for the use of the disabled, but also for the common user without differences or exclusivities. An action where as a principle architecture is subordinated to the landscape and tries to become its framework for its value and protection.
