For this public tendering process, announced by the
Junta de Andalucía (Andalusian regional government) we used the experience
gained both in Erfurt (Germany) and in Málaga. We obtained the first price. After four years of meetings, changes of plans, etc. the execution project was finally formalized. Fortunately, the spirit of
the project was preserved and, therefore, the main ideas of the contest’s
preliminary project were maintained. As a result, the building was the original
one from the point of view of architecture and town planning.
The objectives were clear:
We wanted to achieve a pleasant court building
surrounded by gardens, where the public perceives that here there is not only
judgement but also defence. They should find themselves in a space that allows
one to find the spiritual rest that is necessary to be able to face up to the
challenging tasks of judging and being judged.
We wanted to design an introverted architecture that
looks upon itself and mistrusts exhibitionism. The work is not based on the
measures of what is built but rather on the richness of space, with an interior
avenue, a garden and soft light. It works with the surprise of the show that
commences when the curtain rises to make visible the halls, the patios, the
footbridges, limitless walls and changes in the scales of volumes of what present
themselves as domestic and familiar buildings.
In Almería one can feel the presence of Arab architecture, dumb and
blind to the exterior yet open, fresh and transparent to the inside.
The rest was just developing the normal programme for
court buildings: respect the radical division between the private and the
public, design big public spaces opposite the gardens and create a hierarchy of
different spaces avoiding inconvenient interferences.
We have always thought that solving problems
contributes to developing better Architecture.