In Algueña, a small town in the province and an economy based on agriculture and the marble industry, a new public building will gather all the town’s activities related to music and culture. Music bands have a long tradition in the region of Valencia, and they are not only cultural, but social entities as well. Their level of participation in town life goes beyond music and has an influence on essential issues such as social insertion, integration and education. In Algueña, specifically, the music band has many followers.

The project involved the refurbishment of the old headquarters of the Civil Guard with a surface area of 670 square meters, and adding a new auditorium measuring 350 square meters with seating for 230 spectators. The second stage of the project includes a park with an outdoor auditorium that will become a link between the town and the future urban expansion area. The building is located in the west entrance to the town, on a boundary site that is meant to mark the center of all future urban growth.

The old headquarters, a 1960s building with a load-bearing structure that was still in good shape, traced a U with a central courtyard that had become the band’s rehearsal space. The building’s refurbishment affects its appearance but not its geometry, because all the constructive elements have been recovered, although in white and with different degrees of shine, thus generating a tension between memory and present reality.

Furthermore, the new structure closes the perimeter separating itself from the old building by two stairwells delimited by glass boxes.In its interior, the hall has mobile seats and installations that permit adapting the space to different kinds of performances and address a variety of requirements, so a large storage area is necessary. A windowless box, except for two openings that cross its transversal axis, it rises as a strange element in its context due to its hermetic character and the protagonism of the enclosure material. The use of a ceramic cladding with a lacquered finish creates a vibrant volume that changes constantly, be it due to the variations of light or to the movement of the observer. This material was created expressly for this project, using baking, vitrification and material deposition.