The partial intervention at the Centro San Francisco Javier is part of a larger master plan, developed in several phases with the purpose of remodelling and updating this psychogeriatric center on the outskirts of Pamplona. The complex, built in the early 20th century, had been altered without order over the years, and was gradually falling into disrepair. The project restructures the complex to achieve a clearer scheme in terms of composition – more seamlessly blended with the surroundings and with optimized activity flows –, starting from the refurbishment of certain parts, the demolition of some blocks, and the construction of others. In this way, instead of closing and taking down this obsolete institution, the project deliberately seeks to preserve the original low-rise pavilions, as well as to potentiate an atmosphere with a friendly scale characterized by well-kept green areas.

The completed phase includes the transformation of the southeast wing, where the two large volumes added soundly articulate the dialogue between the old and the new. The sharp profile of the two new buildings responds to the desire to blend with the surroundings and to abstractly reinterpret the pitched building archetype, offering a formal and lyrical synthesis of the existing architecture. The project is materialized as a critical reflection on memory and time, and in this sense, the concrete used to complete the enclosure is dyed in the color of the mortar that joins the brick and the stone in the adjoining historic buildings. Depending on orientation and wind strength, the new facades are also expected to darken gradually until mimicking the old ones. Furthermore, the elevations recover the arched motif of the windows in the old pavilions, which are recorded on the material and form a rhythmic and hermetic palimpsest. This pattern provides a homogeneous backdrop, perforated however by windows that break the monotony and hint at the distribution and uses of the rooms. 

To emphasize the bold and essential character of the geometry, the design of the gutters was studied in detail, and here they finally take the shape of discreet linear cracks. The ground floor – where some sections take in stretches of existing walls – is rounded off as a recessed glass box that remains in the shade, making the building appear to float weightlessly over the garden.