"El Andén," designed by KAUH, repurposes the residual spaces of the former railway line as a public space. It is a single-story building with multifunctional classrooms arranged in a linear sequence, intended for use by the town band and neighborhood associations. Continuing from the lobby, a linear corridor is added, gradually widening to accommodate small meeting spaces.
The existing building features a vaulted interior structure, which defines each new classroom space, constructed of concrete. Furthermore, the entire architecture was clad in white, maintaining the characteristic tones of Cádiz.
The Platform, community space and music school by Kauh. Photograph by Fernando Alda.
Project description by KAUH
The project is located on the northern edge of the town of Rota, flanked by the naval base and the San Antonio neighborhood, precisely where, until the 1980s, the railway infrastructure that served the so-called “coastal train” once stood. Traces of this former use remain, such as the large open space and the building—subject of this intervention—which was adapted to be used by the municipal band as a rehearsal space and music school.
The intervention, promoted by the Rota City Council, provides the city with a more complete public facility through the renovation and extension of the building. Now named “El Andén” (“The Platform”), the building continues to function as a music school and headquarters of the municipal band, while also opening up to new activities as a community space.
The starting point of the proposal is to consider the residual spaces of the former railway line as a public space infrastructure that establishes a connection between the city and the territory. The project is understood as part of this infrastructure. The first question to address was: in an open, undefined space, how should the extension of the existing building be proposed? We proposed following the trace of the railway line and treating the building and the platform as a unified ensemble. These pre-existing elements are understood as witnesses to the memory of the city’s lost railway infrastructure. Despite not having heritage protection status, the proposal reflects on the value of these lost landscapes and is designed using parameters similar to those applied in heritage conservation.
Up close, the existing building is characterized by an interior vaulted construction system that gives it a distinctive spatial quality. In Rota, vaults can also be found in farm outbuildings that shape the surrounding rural landscape, in historic houses on Calle Calvario, and even in military constructions within the naval base. This feature strongly caught our attention, and we chose to highlight it.
The extension, based on the pre-existing building-platform relationship, reinforces the ensemble, follows the line of the railway, and incorporates the level of the former loading dock. It is developed on a single floor and adopts the vault as a key element, both to configure the new spaces and to give the new civic center a recognizable identity. The program essentially consists of providing multifunctional classrooms that can be used by the music band and neighborhood associations. The rooms are arranged in a linear sequence. In continuity with the lobby, a linear corridor is added, gradually widening to accommodate small spaces for meeting and informal conversation.
The formal solution relates to the existing building through repetition, rhythm, and variation of elements. The vault of the original structure also defines each new classroom space, which in the extension are built in concrete and made visible on the exterior. The arches present on the façade of the original building are reinterpreted to shape openings and façades. The existing building is cleared to provide transparency, allowing it to host activities with larger capacities. The entire architecture is rendered in white, a characteristic color of Cádiz. Special attention is given to light, which is intense due to Rota’s Atlantic location and the southern orientation of the building. Openings to the south are therefore minimized, while to the north natural lighting in each classroom is complemented with skylights. The building’s relatively enclosed character, together with measures such as cross ventilation, improves climatic performance and energy efficiency.
Deliberately, the complex seeks to offer a recognizable identity. Through the singular expression of its linearity, its vaults and arches—between memory and projection—it presents itself as a civic building: a collective place.
The proposal will be completed with the redevelopment of the adjacent open space, for which a project has already been drafted, further reinforcing the idea of the landscape infrastructure connecting city and territory.
