The new Cipi (center for innovation and promotion of Iberian products) takes up the complex known as Tiro a Pichón, which was built in three phases – at the beginning of the 20th century, between 1936 and 1941, and in the 1950s decade – and used originally as a recreational place for nobility. Later on it became a hospital for asthmatic children and in the 1980s it was a children’s camp, and finally it fell into neglect and disuse. The main building in the complex is a work by the Sevillian Aníbal González (1875-1929) – author, among other works, of the Plaza de España in Seville, built for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929.

original construction

historic building

previous state

annexe demolition

pool reutilization

lounge previous state

emptying process

interior emptying

textured formwork

ceiling reparation

The project is based on a research on architectures linked to the production of Iberian products, architectures that go from the grazing meadows to the winery, and from the suckling’s birth to the curing process: two typologies that delimit the world of the Iberian pig. The first decision was to give the building back it original presence in the square. Inside the program is organized as follows: the ground floor houses the central tourist info point of ‘La Ruta del Jamón’ and different exhibition areas. The first floor accommodates the ‘Sede del Consejo Regulador de la Denominación de Origen Jamón de Jabugo’ (supervisory body for the product’s Designation of Origin). The second floor is a co-working space for businesses in the field. The communications core in the southern wing links up directly with the basement, where the ‘Nueva Bodega’ is, a multipurpose relational space for ham curing, research, and cooking.

The rest of the project is structured around three free-standing structures: the ‘majadas.’ Inside each one is a built piece and a free area that looks out to the central square. The first one is located next to the building, and functions as lobby and corridor. Inside, like a showcase, a box links up with the winery and becomes a large lightbox for hams. The second ‘majada,’ north of the square, activates this central space. It is the smallest of the three and houses a cafeteria and restrooms. The third one is located over the old pool, using the sloping geometry of the pool to place a tiered seating area which turns the space into an auditorium-assembly hall. This ‘majada’ takes on the exclusive use of training, congresses, conferences, and presentations to the media.

The project exploits its privileged location, generating a calm redoubt where the architectures of different periods define the visitors’ gaze.