The proposal integrates the San Pablo block in Cordoba into the wider central part of the city, capitalizing on the multiplicity and diversity of its entry points.

Carefully placed interventions act as appendages to the interior of the Huerta de San Pablo solving the different programmatic needs and defining the unique character of each entry, while enriching the already existing spatial qualities of the garden.

The significance of the proposal is not the building, but the void next to and under it. The building acts as a Frame to the Void, the archaeology beneath and Huerta de San Pablo. It frames Nature. The Void created to the south is excavated and establishes a direct visual and spatial relationship between FAC and the Provincial Office of the Culture Department of the Andalusian Regional Government, the Roman Temple and the archaeological remains on the site. The four institutions form a physical cross in space and a metaphorical cross in time. This generous semi open space acts as exhibition, archaeological display and public meeting place.

status: competition

program: urban plan and institution of architecture

area: Masterplan 1.5 ha, building 810 m2

location: Cordoba, Spain

team: Konstantinos Pantazis, Marianna Rentzou, Beth Hughes, Konstantina Papanikolaou,  Tasos Govatsos, Katerina Grigoropoulou

year: 2010