THEATRE IN THE SANTA CLOTILDE GARDENS
A new cultural space in one of Catalonia’s most emblematic historic gardens
The intervention in the Santa Clotilde Gardens introduces a small open-air theatre that extends the principles of order, clarity and relationship with the landscape characteristic of the noucentista garden. The project relies on the existing topography to define a system of seating tiers and pathways oriented towards Cala Boadella, while the use of sablón as a unifying material ensures continuity with the historic pavements and walls. The intervention is inserted into forest clearings without affecting the vegetation, consolidating a new cultural space fully coherent with the geometric and landscape logic of the original garden.
Mediterranean Noucentisme. Order, clarity and landscape
The Santa Clotilde Gardens were conceived under the principles of Noucentisme, a movement that advocated simplicity, proportion and a return to Mediterranean roots as a response to the excesses of Modernism. Rubió i Tudurí envisioned the garden as a space of reconciliation between human beings and nature, where topography, horizon and sea are inseparable parts of the experience.
The original layout is articulated through a network of paths, stairways and small circular plazas, accompanied by distinctly Mediterranean vegetation: cypresses, pines, ivy, myrtles, agapanthus and oleanders. The current intervention takes these values as its starting point and projects them into a new cultural space fully integrated into the historic ensemble.
A theatre facing the sea. A new meeting point
With more than 130,000 visitors per year, the Santa Clotilde Gardens are one of the most visited heritage sites in Catalonia. To consolidate and diversify its cultural activity, the Lloret de Mar City Council has promoted the construction of a small open-air theatre at the western end of the garden, in a natural clearing with exceptional views over Cala Boadella.
The programme includes:
• A circular stage.
• Tiered seating for approximately 300 people, adapted to the natural slope of the terrain.
• Dressing rooms and a small service building.
The ensemble is oriented towards the landscape, turning the sea and the mountains into a permanent backdrop. The seating, integrated into the slope, directs the spectator’s gaze towards the horizon, where light and relief merge into a unique natural stage on the Costa Brava.
Mediterranean materiality. Building from the place
The proposal adopts the principles of simplicity, order and clarity characteristic of the historic garden. It focuses on a material palette based on sablón—a soil derived from decomposed granite, widely used locally and present in the gardens themselves—as an omnipresent element in pavements, seating tiers, walls and lime renders.
The two small architectural volumes—the service building and the volume housing the dressing rooms—are located in existing clearings, without affecting any trees. Their forms, proportions and geometries dialogue with the circular elements of the noucentista garden, reinforcing continuity between the historic and the contemporary.
The service building, circular in plan and organised around a central courtyard, incorporates a green roof, an axial cypress and climbing plants that partially colonise the façade, evoking the tradition of ars topiaria and the constant presence of vegetation in the original garden.
A path towards the landscape
The path connecting both volumes gently descends following the line of minimal slope towards the sea. This gesture, consistent with the garden’s topographic logic, allows the new theatre to operate independently from visiting hours, expanding the versatility of the ensemble and facilitating its cultural and educational use.
The stage, defined by a continuous bench and a perimeter ha-ha, is conceived as a flexible space for small-scale activities, from musical performances to workshops, lectures or educational initiatives linked to heritage.
Commitment to the environment, beauty and community
In addition to landscape integration and material continuity with the historic garden, the intervention incorporates criteria aimed at optimising resources and respecting the environment:
• Resource efficiency and optimisation of construction processes.
• Use of local materials and techniques, with particular emphasis on sablón and lime renders.
• Respectful implementation within the existing topography, avoiding earthworks and preserving all surrounding vegetation.
• Reduction of energy consumption and minimisation of future maintenance through passive solutions and durable materials.
• Landscape integration without altering the environmental dynamics of the garden or the surrounding forest strip.
The project understands beauty as a social value, reinforcing the artistic dialogue with the historic gardens and expanding the cultural and educational offer of the site. Its relationship with the local community contributes to urban regeneration based on accessibility, diversity and inclusion, compatible with the preservation of architectural and landscape heritage.
Since its inauguration, the new theatre has established itself as a space for encounter, culture and coexistence, from which Lloret de Mar continues to promote respect for and dissemination of the territory’s historical and natural values.
