Renovation of Betxí's Palau-Castell renaissance cloister by el fabricante de espheras
10/02/2016.
[Betxí - Castellón] Spain
metalocus, CLAUDIA CENDOYA
metalocus, CLAUDIA CENDOYA
The project, designed by the practice el fabricante de espheras, focuses on the recovery of the cloistered space with the addition of a traditional clay floors, reflected in the mirrored surface. The use of a single material as a tool for the recovery of the cloister responds to the decision to end the unfinished classic elements of the courtyard downstairs and to enhance the ground floor of the Renaissance castle.
Description of the project by el fabricante de espheras
The starting point for the urban regeneration of the Palau-Castell de Betxí, was the attack against the Valencian heritage suffered in the decade of the 70’s. Half of the Renaissance cloister was lost, when it was invaded by two residential building blocks.
The revitalisation of the monument (protected with the top national rank, BIC) was claimed by several bodies of the Valencian Society, and supported by the city council of Betxí, during 20 years of abandonment.
The proposal is about the first of the 8 phases of the Master Plan of the monument, ended in July 2014, where the dividing preexisting wall is used as a support for a mirror that reflected the lost part of the Renaissance cloister. It evokes the past plenitude of the Palau-Castell and restores a forgotten urban space, that recovers the socio-cultural importance it had once.
The Palau-Castell Urban Regeneration has been awarded with the Ceramic Architecture Award ASCER 2014 recognizing the urban regeneration and the heritage protection of this architecture intervention using a mirror and traditional ceramics pavement.
el fabricante de espheras, coop. v. is a young and polyvalent architecture practice focused both towards architecture design and architectural communication and investigation. They have received the COACV 2013-2014 and ceramics ASCER awards, amongst others.
el fabricante de espheras, coop. v. is an architecture office founded in Valencia in 2009 dedicated to the development of architecture, urban planning, landscape and design projects. In 2016, it was established as an associated work cooperative, forming a multidisciplinary team made up of young professionals with experience and specialized training that complements and intensifies the capacities in the different project processes. Respect for tradition, the environment and heritage culture are the hallmarks of each of the projects.
The study has received various awards for its work on Heritage, especially for the recovery of the Renaissance cloister of the Palau-Castell de Betxí (Castelló). Similarly, the urban regeneration process elCASC has been awarded several times for its innovative and supportive nature. In 2018, the Pla Xàtiva public participation process, linked to the Special Plan for the Protection of the Historic Center of Xàtiva, received the Housing, Mobility and Urban Planning Award with a gender perspective from the Generalitat Valenciana. More recently, the project for the Plaza de la Sinagoga in the historic center of Onda, carried out together with Grupo Aranea and Cel-Ras Arquitectura, received the Housing, Mobility and Urban Planning Award with a gender perspective 2021 from the Generalitat Valenciana, the European Award of Intervention in the Architectural Heritage AADIPA 2021 in intervention in outdoor spaces and the Accessibility Award of the European Week of Sustainable Mobility in the Valencian Community 2021.