Integral reform I.E.S. Práxedes Mateo Sagasta by Vírseda - Vila Arquitectos + Miguel Ángel Cámara Mamolar + Miguel Fernández Rueda. Photograph by Adriana Martínez.
Project description by Vírseda - Vila Arquitectos
The work undertakes the comprehensive reform of the Práxedes Mateo Sagasta Secondary Education Institute, an illustrious institution in La Rioja, whose headquarters building is located in the center of Logroño, between the main promenade of Espolón and the Town Hall, designed by Rafael Moneo.
The project takes advantage of this privileged location and representative character to not only respect the old educational use, but also transform the building into a new pole of public activity, whose use regime is not limited exclusively to school hours, but extends to the entire of the day. Thus, the new building houses, in addition to the teaching program, an assembly hall, some museum rooms, a large multipurpose classroom, and sports facilities for the enjoyment of the citizens.
The new program is structured around the two patios of the building, covered in the project to maximize their exploitation taking into account the thermal and rainfall characteristics of the area. The free condition of the building and the existence of accesses on its four facades are taken advantage of to also allow functional and time simultaneity of all uses.
Integral reform I.E.S. Práxedes Mateo Sagasta by Vírseda - Vila Arquitectos + Miguel Ángel Cámara Mamolar + Miguel Fernández Rueda. Photograph by Adriana Martínez.
The original building is characterized by the large scale of its interior spaces. This is used to house larger public or educational uses in three of the perimeter bays. The fourth bay, the south, is completely emptied and restructured, both in plan and in section (one more level is added), to accommodate all the Institute's classrooms. Regulatory restrictions and the protection of the building require its exterior image to be kept unchanged, so the light sources necessary for the new teaching spaces are created by manipulating the interior roof planes. The building breathes towards the sky.
The different spatial and functional characteristics of the spaces in the South Bay are equally emphasized by their light metallic construction and materiality. These contrast with those of the three remaining bays of the building, practically completely rebuilt (only the thick load-bearing walls were maintained) with modern techniques and materials, but always respecting the dimensional and formal parameters of the original work.
