Refurbishment and Extension of el Puerto de Santa María Town Hall
Refurbishment and extension of the old Town Hall in El Puerto de Santa María, Cádiz.
A competition for the Refurbishment and extension of El Puerto de Santa María Town Hall was announced in 1999. Our proposal outlined a heterodox intervention, closer to consolidation and recovery of the essential elements than a meticulous restitution to its initial state. At the end of the works, the refurbished building would house the most important areas, that is the mayoralty with related offices as general secretary’s office, the reception hall and political parties offices. The extension would take up the rest of the site, with independent access from Plaza Isaac Peral and rear street, Jesús Cautivo. It would house the different municipal services and a new council chamber.
The new chamber is located halfway between the old and the new building so Mayor and Councillors will go into from the refurbished wing and general public will do it from the lobby of the new one.
The extension has been built as a linear six-storey construction. The three lower levels reach the rear street, Jesús Cautivo, occupying the whole irregular site. The new building is over a basement floor which houses archive, storage and services rooms.
The six-storey wing of the extension receives natural light and ventilation from the southeast facade. We designed a neutral facade which acts as a background, framing the old building. This facade is not exempt of classicism. It was designed with two orders, the lower, comprising the ground floor and the first floor, matching up the base of the old construction; the higher one groups together the upper levels, concealing them. As we have said, the lower levels reach Jesús Cautivo street. These spaces have natural illumination and ventilation through three patios, each one starting in a different floor (basement, ground floor and first floor).
