David Castañares Architect

The project is located in a small village in the province of A Coruña, near to Santiago de Compostela, where had been located the largest mine in Spain for many years.
After the closure of the mine, it proceeded to flood the hole to generated a lake of 5 km long.
In order to preserve the historical memory of the place at the urban level, the project rehabilitates one of the main conveyor belt which moved coal from the hole to the thermal power plant, creating a union between people, the center and the lake. My building is inserted just in this line, having direct access to the lake.
Due to the large scale of the place and the line, it was necessary in the formal level, a resounding and large volume. The conveyor belt is completly integrated with it and becomes part of the building, mixing architecture and environment.
The footprint of the building in the landscape is minimal: the sport center floats on the ground through a series of supports and preserves the topography on the ground floor. With his transparent facade and its minimal structure consisting of bars and nodes, we can appreciate the beauty of the natural environment.
The piece is placed in front of the old machines of the mine, steel giants which blends. It has an industrial look like the rest of the environment, but with more technological and bioclimatic elements added.
At program level, since the closure of the mine's industrial activity, most people who lived in As Pontes had moved. However, with the creation of the lake and the restoration of the natural environment, many sporting events and competitions at regional and national levels are been setting at As Pontes (triathlon, marathon, canoeing, sailing, rowing, bmx) beside more extreme activities such as scuba diving , skydiving or climbing. All of this new athletics events have become the sport in the main attraction of the town in just a few years.
The building is presented, therefore, as a key to keep going with the development of the flourishing sport activity, which would mean a boost in the economic progress of people. It could also transform an industrial ruin forgotten in a powerful reactivating axis of the area at the same time that preserves the historical memory and respects the place.