losada garcia arquitectos completes checkered la gota cultural center

losada garcia arquitectos completes checkered la gota cultural center
image © miguel de guzman
all images courtesy of losada garcia arquitectos

spanish/americn studio losada garcia arquitectos has recently completed the tobacco museum la gota cultural center in navalmoral, caceres, spain. the town, known for it’s history of tobacco growing and processing inspired the nature of the building. apart from the permanent tobacco exhibits, however, the museum also hosts temporary exhibits and serves as the home of the works of sofia feliu. the structure consists of a series of offset post-tensioned slabs and a supporting column grid. the stacked cantilevered forms take their cues from the basic make up of a tobacco plant.  
image © miguel de guzman

each contains a different subject matter as well as various views of the city through its outdoor terraces. the facades feature an energy efficient double-layered skin that also gives the architecture much of its aesthetic. a ‘ceramic fabric’ made up of staggered slender clay veneers filters sunlight into the spaces while an inner layer of glass helps to maintain steady interior temperatures. along the rear side of the site an expansive green wall cultivating tobacco plants and other vegetation reduces the amount of heat retained by otherwise exposed concrete facades and further helps to regulate temperatures throughout the building. the exterior features of the structure are used to control how the elements enter the building so that the interior may exist a simple open floor plan with stark white surfaces, ideal for hosting any exhibit.
image © miguel de guzman

image © miguel de guzman

staggered volumes form rooftop terraces
image © miguel de guzman

larger windows frame different views of the city
image © miguel de guzman

the flexbrick facade blurs views of the exterior creating a subtle backdrop for the items inside
image © miguel de guzman

image © miguel de guzman

image © miguel de guzman

image © miguel de guzman

the exterior green wall contrasts the harder edges of the structure and lends to a better energy efficiency
image © miguel de guzman

image © miguel de guzman

at night, the structure becomes a light box
image © miguel de guzman

image © miguel de guzman

image © miguel de guzman

image © miguel de guzman

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project info:

surface: 1,220 m2
budget: 885,785 euros + vat
client: city navalmoral de la mata and cáceres provincial council
architects: ramiro losada and alberto garcia
construction engineer: oscar gonzalez
project management: ramiro losada, alberto garcía and óscar gonzález
collaborators: lucía bentué, toni gelabert, and adriana quesada and marina melchor.
structure and facilities: valladares
contractor: dragados
structure: reco sl
electricity, lighting, sanitation, plumbing, air conditioning and pci: render industrial group sl
green wall: unusual green
facade: flexbrick
photography: miguel de guzman