The Clearing in the Forest
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At a glance
- Project by: AH Asociados
- Location: Mallorca, Spain
Preview image
© AH Asociados
Project images
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Lighthouse in the bay © AH Asociados View project image |
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Aerial view © AH Asociados View project image |
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The clearing in the forest © AH Asociados View project image |
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Location © AH Asociados View project image |
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Relation with the Port of Alcudia © AH Asociados View project image |
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Tank (for multi-purpose use) in the forest © AH Asociados View project image |
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Environment © AH Asociados View project image |
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Program © AH Asociados View project image |
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Section 01 © AH Asociados View project image |
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Section 02 © AH Asociados View project image |
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Section 03 © AH Asociados View project image |
Architect's statement
The coal-fired power station in Alcudia, Mallorca, is one of the most important examples of industrial architecture of the Balearic Islands. It was built in 1958 according to a design by the brilliant Spanish architect Ramón Vázquez Molezún. The building has a powerful presence, constructed of reinforced concrete with an elaborate facade accented by large, prefabricated lattice-like panels.
Today the power station and its surroundings are abandoned, though its two tall chimneys continue to rise above the bay and have become a common reference to the landscape of the island.
The Mallorca Territorial Plan declares the complex as a Zone of Territorial Restructuring, and establishes a series of guidelines that focus at first on the conservation of the main building and secondly on the integration of the entire complex in the surrounding environment.
The competition program asks for the intervention of the main building as well as the surrounding environment in such a way that requires the work to be done in two scales: architecture and landscape. With this in mind, our project works with this double scale, combining the past and the future, converting the power station and its surroundings into a territorial hub for the entire Northern part of the island, and promoting at the same time the historic and artistic value of the building and, above all, its familiar silhouette at the bay.
The slogan used for the proposal – “The Clearing in the Forest” – refers to a text of the same name by María Zambrano, and in the text the poet from Malaga writes:
“(...) El claro en el bosque es un centro en el que no siempre es posible entrar. Es otro reino que un alma habita y guarda. Algún pájaro avisa y llama a ir hasta donde vaya marcando su voz. Y se la obedece. Luego no se encuentra nada, nada que no sea un lugar intacto que parece haberse abierto en ese solo instante y que nunca más se dará así”.*
Like what happens at Tikal in Guatemala or at any of the ancient Mayan ruins, our proposal implements a surprise: the discovery that comes with the idea of “the clearing in the forest” and, once there, it gives the visitor the possibility of experiencing the sensations that come with contemplating the past. In the middle of the frantic world that surrounds us, this place offers the visitor a space to stop and think.
To achieve this, the project includes the reworking of the topography and landscaping to return the area to its original appearance in which the buildings of the complex, taken over by vegetation, are no longer isolated elements; rather they become part of the topography. By way of different paths, the visitor will discover the ancient elements partially hidden among the trees, and eventually, following the path that crosses the tall chimneys, arrives to the clearing. Once there, stripped of the tangle of metallic elements that are now present, the ancient power station stands with all its aesthetic potential as a magnificent industrial building.
The main building of the power station is converted into a museum, creating a mixed use space for expositions which also includes large spaces for contemporary art shows as well as other spaces dedicated to the Museum of Science and Technology. The program is completed with artist workshops, classrooms, an auditorium, the library, and a series of complimentary spaces associated with the use of the museum.
This renaissance of the old spaces of the power station will also be evident as viewed from afar; it is in the distance where the building shows off its new image and renewed presence in a play of apertures that rise vertically and reach towards the night sky, demonstrating its powerful character. As a beacon in the bay, the space that crowns the building is conceived as a multi-use area that combines restoration activities, presentations, expositions, parties or events, and it is also usable independently from the museum, accessible via the old conveyor belt structure used to deliver carbon to the power station.
The proposal is based on a basic concept of sustainability: recycling. Though this project deals with an entire complex of buildings, the idea of adapting existing buildings with other uses permit the conservation of the original quality of the site in its context, and at the same time taking advantage of the existing resources.
The entire site, from the parking lot to the walking path, are designed in the most natural way possible, utilizing materials fitting with the natural, wooded environment. The gravel and natural stone paving are complemented by areas of tree bark separated by strips of corten steel. With time, nature will fill in the gaps and perfectly integrate the walking paths in the landscape.
To accentuate the idea of a ruin, the project leaves the main building structure untouched by placing the new interior uses in free-standing boxes located within the original building shell. The building entrance is defined by a simple steel plate extending from the building face.
Besides the ticket counter and other services, the ground floor consists of two independent parts: the first contains the artist’s workshops and the second, standing tall to one side of the main hall, contains the auditorium and library. In the main hall, the original machinery is conserved and used as part of the exposition.
The first floor includes the small-object exposition rooms and the power station history room. From there, via a staircase designed as an inverted hopper, one enters into the actual concrete coal hoppers which are perforated to house additional exposition spaces. Once past the coal hoppers, the visitor can descend at the opposite end or continue ascending until reaching the last floor, the majestic watchtower.
In the ceiling of the top floor are a series of slices, based on a module of the existing building skin. Creating a new rhythm that alters the delicate monotony of the façade, creating a singular image of the building, most of all at night.
Details/Credits
- Client: Consell de Mallorca and Ayuntamiento (Town Hall) de Alcudia
- Location: Power Station of Alcudia, Mallorca, Spain
- Principal designers: Miguel A. Alonso del Val, Rufino J. Hernández Minguillón, Pablo Branchi Borrell
- Design Team: Esperanza Marrodán Ciordia (Design Team Manager), Dennis Bartolomeo, MªEugenia Hutter, Darío Camisay, Felipe Croxatto
- Project Type: Architecture and landscape, sustainability, conversion
- Site area: 53,000 m2
- Built-up area: 10,600 m2
