The Galician practice of Juan Creus and Covadonga Carrasco has transformed an old jail into a cultural center. The separate units of the prison facilities are compartmentalized with varying degrees of openness, giving importance to the concept of the void as much along the visual and circulatory axes as in the courtyards and the perimeter.

The intervention in the old prison building is kept to a minimum, restoring the institution’s original state in the process of creating versatile spaces for art and culture. In contrast, the operation is deep and structural in the jail’s service area (rear), now housing an archaeology department, and, albeit maintaining the facades, also in the judicial building (currently a local police station and an entrance zone), which now harbors the library, the auditorium, and, on the roof, a gastronomy interpretation center with a restaurant and terrace with views of the wall and city. The surroundings have been improved for pedestrians, with a tree-lined promenade and a square with rammed earth, merging the complex with the stone pavement.