Miguel Mihura Álvarez Theater by Frank Mazzarella and Pedro Caro González

Description of project by Frank Mazzarella and Pedro Caro González

The new Miguel Mihura Álvarez Theater, located in the southwest of the city of Medina Sidonia (Cádiz) occupies the old site of the Church of the Convent of San Francisco built in 1650 and converted into a theater in 1852 after the confiscation. This area of sparse construction offered the opportunity to turn this place into a new public space, revitalizing the area and creating a new focus of social and cultural activity for the city.

The intervention starts from the conservation of the old apse of the disappeared church and uses its vaults and niches to create a hall of various heights. A new skylight allows the overhead lighting of these elements, making them regain their prominence and creating a large-scale space that is perceived as an extension of the urban fabric. During the work it was discovered that the foundation level of the church was at a level much lower than expected, which allowed the creation of a room exhibitions that receive natural light through the vault above the restored crypt.

The value of these historical remains hidden behind the stage of the previous theater was possible by inverting its original distribution, turning it 180 degrees, turning the stage tower into a large cinema screen and transforming the Ramón y Cajal square into a scenic space outdoor. This square, with its original slope and new granite bleachers, welcomes all kinds of activities and shows by opening the large glass doors at the back of the stage.

The main staircase is developed under a skylight throughout the building, communicating all levels. On the ground floor, the cantilevered steps take on a light character, floating in the space to allow the passage of light to the lower section.

Traditional materials have been chosen for exterior finishes; plastering of white lime mortar and granite stonework, looking for the intervention to be integrated with the greatest naturalness within the historic set of Medina Sidonia. The lime mortar is used again in the interior to cover the preserved walls of the old church, subtly differentiating them from the white paint used in the newly constructed walls. The lobbies' dependencies are expressed as large pieces of furniture made of wood-framed panels, distinguishing themselves from the really structural elements of the building. This same material envelops the spectator inside the stalls, generating a stepped skin that facilitates the correct acoustic diffusion. Large counter-windows hidden in this lining pivot to provide the room with natural lighting for certain activities.

As it is a large free-standing building, the theater takes center stage as a reference element in the landscape, both in the views from the population and in the vision it brings to it and its natural environment. This, together with its privileged elevated position and close to the western boundary of the city, generated the idea of increasing the cultural offer of the theater with the creation of terraces on its roof that allow a variety of parallel programs, allowing the public to tour the building in all its height.

Hallways and stairs thus become spaces of transition between two squares, following a spiral path that leads to a reception space emptied of the upper part of the building, where large gaps capture various images of the heritage of one of the most beautiful "White villages" of the province. From there you can access a viewpoint that hosts performances and offers as a backdrop the extraordinary panorama of the Cadiz countryside, the coast and much of the Bay of Cádiz.