ATTENTION: THIS INITIATIVE HAS BEEN DEVELOPED AS PART OF THE “LUCES DE BARRIO 2016” PROGRAMME, OF THE "Urban Habitat, Culture and Tourism Area of the Seville City Council”. COMMISSIONED BY NOMAD GARDEN, RELATED BY SURNAMES AND PRODUCED BY THE MANDATE. ITS REALISATION HAS BEEN MADE POSSIBLE THANKS TO THE COLLABORATION OF CTRL+Z AND SCENOTEKNIAB, THE PMAR OF IES JOAQUÍN ROMERO MURUBE AND THE ASOCIACIÓN VERDES DEL SUR.
Entering for the first time in the courtyard of the I.E.S. Joaquín Romero Murube, in the Barriada Murillo in the Polígono Sur area of Seville, we found two orchards. The first is configured as a didactic tool through which different PMAR (Programme for the Improvement of Learning and Performance) programmes of the school are developed. The second corresponds to a productive initiative for food sovereignty and self-sufficiency of the Asociación Verdes del Sur, which also runs a greenhouse to develop a research project on the use of aquaponics with a social focus.
Today, a geodesic PVC structure with a diameter of four metres has been added, as well as the wooden 'sorbole' with a diameter of almost eight metres, covered with canvas, which houses an improved inertia floor and a twenty-one metre long Superadobe bench.
These works were carried out as part of the Luces de Barrio programme, in which we were invited to participate. The initiative, which is celebrating its second edition in 2016, aims to 'shed light on exemplary urban places, tended and cultivated by civic collectives'. The curators paired Ctrl+Z with the orchards of Barriada Murillo, and so we began to get to know the neighbourhood, the courtyard and the social agents who inhabit it.
scenotekniaB was then contacted to establish a collaboration that would allow us to extend the team's resources, especially for the inauguration and the lighting aspects it required. ScenotekniaB's contribution, however, was not limited to its specific skills, but became an important driving force for the realisation of the project, contributing its energy and enthusiasm. Diversofoto covered the installation and was actively involved in some of the construction phases.
They were carried out within the framework of the program Neighborhood Lights 2016 to which we were invited to participate. The initiative, which is celebrating its second edition this year, aims to "illuminate exemplary urban spaces, cared for and cultivated by civic groups." The curators combined Ctrl+Z with the Murillo neighborhood garden, and that's how we began to get to know the neighborhood and the social agents that surround it.
He was then contacted scenotekniaB to establish a collaboration that would allow us to expand the team's resources, especially in view of the inauguration and the lighting aspects it required. Their contributions, however, were not limited to the specifics of their training; they became an important driving force behind the 360° project, also contributing their energy and enthusiasm. Diversofoto covered the assembly and actively joined in some phases of construction.
Entering for the first time in the courtyard of the I.E.S. Joaquín Romero Murube, in the Barriada Murillo in the Polígono Sur area of Seville, we found two orchards. The first is configured as a didactic tool through which different PMAR (Programme for the Improvement of Learning and Performance) programmes of the school are developed. The second corresponds to a productive initiative for food sovereignty and self-sufficiency of the Asociación Verdes del Sur, which also runs a greenhouse to develop a research project on the use of aquaponics with a social focus.
Today, a geodesic PVC structure with a diameter of four metres has been added, as well as the wooden 'sorbole' with a diameter of almost eight metres, covered with canvas, which houses an improved inertia floor and a twenty-one metre long Superadobe bench.
These works were carried out as part of the Luces de Barrio programme, in which we were invited to participate. The initiative, which is celebrating its second edition in 2016, aims to 'shed light on exemplary urban places, tended and cultivated by civic collectives'. The curators paired Ctrl+Z with the orchards of Barriada Murillo, and so we began to get to know the neighbourhood, the courtyard and the social agents who inhabit it.
scenotekniaB was then contacted to establish a collaboration that would allow us to extend the team's resources, especially for the inauguration and the lighting aspects it required. ScenotekniaB's contribution, however, was not limited to its specific skills, but became an important driving force for the realisation of the project, contributing its energy and enthusiasm. Diversofoto covered the installation and was actively involved in some of the construction phases.
Less than five kilometres separate the Polígono Sur from Plaza Nueva, Seville's main square and the seat of the City Council. It is popularly known by nicknames such as 'las Tres Mil Viviendas' or 'Las Vegas', nicknames charged with social exclusion in the collective imagination. These immediately associate the neighbourhood with the sale and use of drugs, with marginalisation and illegality, and create deep social barriers that separate this neighbourhood from the city much more than the geographical distance that physically separates them. It is almost another city, a remote and forgotten city that most Sevillians have never visited and have no intention of doing so, except to look for the same illegality that leads many to point the finger at it.
Polígono Sur is made up of six neighbourhoods, each built at different times and in different ways, from cooperatives to social housing.
The initiative was located in one of them, the 'Barriada Murillo', named after the Sevillian painter Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, whose favourite colours are reflected in the façades of the different parts of the area, giving it its name: 'Los Marrones' (the browns), 'Los Amarillos' (the yellows), etc. ....
From the very first visit, we were confronted with a very different reality from that portrayed in the media. We came into contact with local projects for food sovereignty, university research, self-employment, special education, etc.
Together with their promoters, we structured and developed the proposal.
Less than five kilometres separate the Polígono Sur from Plaza Nueva, Seville's main square and the seat of the City Council. It is popularly known by nicknames such as 'las Tres Mil Viviendas' or 'Las Vegas', nicknames charged with social exclusion in the collective imagination. These immediately associate the neighbourhood with the sale and use of drugs, with marginalisation and illegality, and create deep social barriers that separate this neighbourhood from the city much more than the geographical distance that physically separates them. It is almost another city, a remote and forgotten city that most Sevillians have never visited and have no intention of doing so, except to look for the same illegality that leads many to point the finger at it.
Polígono Sur is made up of six neighbourhoods, each built at different times and in different ways, from cooperatives to social housing.
The initiative was located in one of them, the 'Barriada Murillo', named after the Sevillian painter Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, whose favourite colours are reflected in the façades of the different parts of the area, giving it its name: 'Los Marrones' (the browns), 'Los Amarillos' (the yellows), etc. ....
From the very first visit, we were confronted with a very different reality from that portrayed in the media. We came into contact with local projects for food sovereignty, university research, self-employment, special education, etc.
Together with their promoters, we structured and developed the proposal.
Despite the dynamism that surrounds them, the allotments, being of recent establishment, suffer from a certain lack of infrastructures. Based on very disparate ideas, the conversations finally led us to focus the initiative on the construction of an area for shade, meetings and rest, to serve both the Association and the Institute in which it is located.
The allotments and the community associated with them have their own peculiarities and idiosyncrasies. IES Murube's orchards are not a place for leisure, but for self-consumption and education, and the community does not seek subsidies or welfare, but rather self-sufficiency and empowerment.
Their attitudes were therefore perfectly in line with the work, training, empowerment and construction schemes that Ctrl+Z aims to promote. The intervention was structured around these axes, with a training programme for the self-construction of some of the equipment that they demanded for their activities, as a pretext for empowering local agents in low-tech construction techniques, based on locally accessible materials, which would be useful for them to continue with this and other projects in the future. All training activities would be completely free of charge for the participants.
The initiative focused mainly on two techniques, geodesic structures and superadobe and it was developed through two training channels: one for young PMAR students and the other for adults, mainly from Verdes del Sur. These channels were not carried out independently, but were articulated as vessels for communication, feedback and synergy.
In the case of the geodesic structures, the adults have joined us in the youth workshops, thus being exposed to the knowledge needed for the realisation of a more complex structure. This in turn served as an example for the students, showing them what can be achieved with the knowledge they have acquired. In the case of the superadobe, the cycle has been reversed: the adults have been trained in the technique and will accompany us as trainers in the activity in which the PMAR students will build the base of a greenhouse, a small bench or a flower bed.
The first stage of the programme consisted of organising a geodesic geometry workshop for the PMAR students. This was possible thanks to the availability and collaboration of the teachers in charge of the programme, with whom the contents were agreed in order to calibrate them correctly to the level of the students.
This workshop has been fundamental to start to get to know and work together with the teachers of the Institute and with the Verdes del Sur, with a view to building the larger wooden structure of ‘Sorbole’ in the next workshop.
Part of Ctrl+Z's activity consists of research into systems that allow for simplification in the construction of habitable geodesic structures. Previous construction experiences have suggested that the complications and pathologies encountered in this type of construction are due to conceptual misunderstandings in their conception and design, as well as a lack of dedication in the planning of their construction.
Once again, we have chosen to rely on light, easily transportable elements, whose preparation requires simple and repetitive operations that do not require the use of auxiliary means, special tools, specific skills or physical strength.
These guidelines led to the design of the "Sorbole" urban garden equipment, composed by a geodesic structure and a superadobe bench. The structure, which uses the "rotegrity" geometry, far from being based on aesthetic considerations, sprouts from the search for a construction system that is easy to prepare and assemble.
This is not to the detriment of the aesthetics or the quality of the spaces that are created, which configure very striking environments and geometries, while drawing on the energies of the neighbourhood and establishing a relationship of identity with it. Using pieces of wood the size of pallet boards, a span of almost eight metres is covered.
The first stage of the programme consisted of organising a geodesic geometry workshop for the PMAR students. This was possible thanks to the availability and collaboration of the teachers in charge of the programme, with whom the contents were agreed in order to calibrate them correctly to the level of the students.
This workshop has been fundamental to start to get to know and work together with the teachers of the Institute and with the Verdes del Sur, with a view to building the larger wooden structure of ‘Sorbole’ in the next workshop.
Part of Ctrl+Z's activity consists of research into systems that allow for simplification in the construction of habitable geodesic structures. Previous construction experiences have suggested that the complications and pathologies encountered in this type of construction are due to conceptual misunderstandings in their conception and design, as well as a lack of dedication in the planning of their construction.
Once again, we have chosen to rely on light, easily transportable elements, whose preparation requires simple and repetitive operations that do not require the use of auxiliary means, special tools, specific skills or physical strength.
These guidelines led to the design of the "Sorbole" urban garden equipment, composed by a geodesic structure and a superadobe bench. The structure, which uses the "rotegrity" geometry, far from being based on aesthetic considerations, sprouts from the search for a construction system that is easy to prepare and assemble.
This is not to the detriment of the aesthetics or the quality of the spaces that are created, which configure very striking environments and geometries, while drawing on the energies of the neighbourhood and establishing a relationship of identity with it. Using pieces of wood the size of pallet boards, a span of almost eight metres is covered.
For the construction of a similar space with beams and pillars would require a crane and skilled labour, reducing the neighbours to mere spectators of an uninteresting and no longer educational spectacle. At the same time, this would deprive the the community of the possibility of managing the proposal. The aim was not only to create a space ‘for’ the residents of the neighbourhood, but also to share with them the knowledge and technology necessary to maintain it ‘by’ themselves.
The assembly was carried out in two days without any remarkable problem, demonstrating that good planning makes it possible to integrate people with no previous training as the main actors in the construction of apparently very complicated structures. The success of this assembly validates the technology transfer protocols that Ctrl+Z has developed over the last few years for these construction systems.
The structure is covered with fireproof canvas. The design of the canvas has been designed to protect the interior from the sun in the summer and to allow it to enter during the winter. At the same time, the design ensures that the interior is always visible from the school, in order to meet the security requirements specified by the institute's management. The polygons have been left uncovered to create a pattern that promotes air circulation and a sense of comfort.
The participants' commitment, enthusiasm and willingness to learn were fundamental in some project choices, as they allowed to assume tasks that were not originally going to be undertaken. There was a list of possibilities to choose from.
In the end, thanks to them, we were ‘forced’ to carry out almost all of them. You could say that, by bringing their energy to bear, they made us work more than we had planned.
One of the activities that was in doubt was the superadobe course to build the bench. Once the dome had been placed on the foundations, the possibility of discarding this course and opting for alternative solutions was considered.
At Ctrl+Z we were firmly convinced of the importance of training in this earth construction technique for the future development of the community. In the near future, the knowledge of superadobe will allow the locals to colonise the Guadaira park, whose plots will continue to be allocated throughout 2017, with the construction of functional and landscaping elements, such as planters and small facilities, as the main technique and/or to support others.
Just as fatigue set in, the local and widespread community backed the initiative. Verdes del Sur and scenotekniaB took a determined step forward by committing their forces; the PMAR teachers found the concrete mixer, a key piece that had worryingly failed to appear, and brought it to the institute using their own means. In addition, Pelícano Mecánico prepared the compactors and various people linked to self-building and urban permaculture showed interest in learning about the technique and quickly responded up to our call.
All these contributions have made it possible to carry out the introductory course to the technique with the construction of the ‘Banco Sur’, the ‘S’ shaped bench that runs through the interior and exterior space of the equipment, where it will be possible to sit in the sun or in the shade, depending on the season.
All these contributions have made it possible to carry out the introductory course to the technique with the construction of the ‘Banco Sur’, the ‘S’ shaped bench that runs through the interior and exterior space of the equipment, where it will be possible to sit in the sun or in the shade, depending on the season.
The design of the bench includes a space between the bench and the dome.
On the one hand, this prevents the bench from being directly exposed to the sun in the summer, which would imply to accumulate a lot of heat; on the other hand, the space created will be planted with plants that will help to regulate the interior temperature of the equipment through evaporation. Initially, ‘chicharos beans’ were planted to open up the land and prepare it for other crops in the spring.
The internal floor has been raised above the surrounding ground level to prevent waterlogging, and the space created has been used to bury around 600 glass bottles filled with water. These bottles have been placed so that they are not in the areas of the pavement that receive solar radiation in the summer.
Water has a much higher specific heat than the ground, so it experiences slower and gentler temperature changes. Its thermal mass helps to limit temperature changes, therefore contributing to the thermal comfort of the facility.
We were asked for an artistic intervention for the Christmas lighting of the neighbourhood and, in our vision, this turned into a programme to empower both adults and children by teaching them different low-tech construction techniques. We built together with them some of the equipment they would need for their own activities, and at the same time provided them with tools and materials to use these techniques independently in the future.
We are always happy to contribute to initiatives that are already active in a territory, to support of people who are already working and are committed to a common goal at local level, thus creating resilient initiatives with a perspective of continuity. In this case, the community, which has rejected assistencialism, has demanded for opportunities and has demonstrated with actions, and not only with words, that it can successfully play a leading role in the construction of its environment.
Once again, we decided to focus less on volumes and materials and much more on people. Their involvement shows that people are interested in architecture when architecture demonstrate interest in people, and this encourages us to continue producing architecture with and for people.
From the beginning, the facilities were conceived as a training and empowerment tool, built with, by and for the social partners involved. Therefore, and in line with its philosophy of work, its understanding of the city and of the participatory processes, Ctrl+Z has officially transferred them them to the Murube Institute and the Asociación Verdes del Sur for joint use.
The cession is understood as the handing over of the fruits of the work of the local actors involved and of resources that, in our vision, make much more sense in their hands than in ours. We trust that they will fill them with life and enjoy them for the benefit of the community
The architectures we produce are endowed with meaning when they are full of life, and it is people who give meaning to these spaces and initiatives. Nothing is sustainable if it is not used, and underused facilities degrade rapidly.
In the wooden dome, the order and organisation of each piece of wood enables its construction and gives the whole a strength far greater than that of its constituent elements. The assembly of the individual pieces is simple, almost irrelevant.
Similar processes occur with the inhabitants when it comes to the socio-cultural construction and signification of neighbourhoods and their spaces; it is all a question of balance, energy and organisation. Neighbours build neighbourhoods day by day with small daily actions, with an almost anonymous work. The sum of all these, their order and organisation, contribute to create a strong community and a better neighbourhood.
Little by little, plank by plank, bucket by bucket, thanks to the organisation of the work and of the neighbours, the sum of these simple, repetitive and everyday actions has built realities and ensembles that far exceed the sum of the individual actions and the potential of the elements that compose them.
The neighbours will continue to write new narratives for their reality, narratives that they have been writing for a long time now, tilapia by tilapia, seedling by seedling. We hope that our contribution will help them to expand and disseminate their work and that it will receive the recognition it deserves at all levels.
At first glance, the techniques and materials used, as well as the actions undertaken, may seem very different. 250 shutters, 290 pallet boards, 600 glass bottles, 8000 kilos of earth... at first glance, they seem to have nothing in common.
But despite their differences, they actually follow the same pattern and apply the same working philosophy. They all allow the use of inclusive construction systems and encourage the participation of the whole community. To make this possible, all the construction processes have been designed to be very simple and not require excessive physical strength.
The whole construction process was designed so that anyone who wanted to participate could do so, as the learning process took no more than five minutes. That was the philosophy of the project: our aim was that everyone could participate.
We considered the inhabitants of the intervention areas as necessary and essential collaborators, as they are the only ones capable of providing the proposal with sociocultural dimensions and the necessary resilience to give it continuity once the Alumbra Sevilla programme has ended.
The entire construction process was designed to be carried out with very simple constructions, so anyone who wanted to participate could do so perfectly, since the learning process took less than five minutes. This was the philosophy of the project, our goal, that everyone could participate.
We consider neighbors to be necessary and essential collaborators, the only ones capable of providing our proposal with more dimensions and the necessary resilience to give it continuity.
Once the Alumbra Sevilla program is finished
We were asked for an artistic intervention for the Christmas lighting of the neighbourhood and, in our vision, this turned into a programme to empower both adults and children by teaching them different low-tech construction techniques. We built together with them some of the equipment they would need for their own activities, and at the same time provided them with tools and materials to use these techniques independently in the future.
We are always happy to contribute to initiatives that are already active in a territory, to support of people who are already working and are committed to a common goal at local level, thus creating resilient initiatives with a perspective of continuity. In this case, the community, which has rejected assistencialism, has demanded for opportunities and has demonstrated with actions, and not only with words, that it can successfully play a leading role in the construction of its environment.
Once again, we decided to focus less on volumes and materials and much more on people. Their involvement shows that people are interested in architecture when architecture demonstrate interest in people, and this encourages us to continue producing architecture with and for people.
From the beginning, the facilities were conceived as a training and empowerment tool, built with, by and for the social partners involved. Therefore, and in line with its philosophy of work, its understanding of the city and of the participatory processes, Ctrl+Z has officially transferred them them to the Murube Institute and the Asociación Verdes del Sur for joint use.
The cession is understood as the handing over of the fruits of the work of the local actors involved and of resources that, in our vision, make much more sense in their hands than in ours. We trust that they will fill them with life and enjoy them for the benefit of the community
The architectures we produce are endowed with meaning when they are full of life, and it is people who give meaning to these spaces and initiatives. Nothing is sustainable if it is not used, and underused facilities degrade rapidly.
In the wooden dome, the order and organisation of each piece of wood enables its construction and gives the whole a strength far greater than that of its constituent elements. The assembly of the individual pieces is simple, almost irrelevant.
Similar processes occur with the inhabitants when it comes to the socio-cultural construction and signification of neighbourhoods and their spaces; it is all a question of balance, energy and organisation. Neighbours build neighbourhoods day by day with small daily actions, with an almost anonymous work. The sum of all these, their order and organisation, contribute to create a strong community and a better neighbourhood.
Little by little, plank by plank, bucket by bucket, thanks to the organisation of the work and of the neighbours, the sum of these simple, repetitive and everyday actions has built realities and ensembles that far exceed the sum of the individual actions and the potential of the elements that compose them.
The neighbours will continue to write new narratives for their reality, narratives that they have been writing for a long time now, tilapia by tilapia, seedling by seedling. We hope that our contribution will help them to expand and disseminate their work and that it will receive the recognition it deserves at all levels.
At first glance, the techniques and materials used, as well as the actions undertaken, may seem very different. 250 shutters, 290 pallet boards, 600 glass bottles, 8000 kilos of earth... at first glance, they seem to have nothing in common.
But despite their differences, they actually follow the same pattern and apply the same working philosophy. They all allow the use of inclusive construction systems and encourage the participation of the whole community. To make this possible, all the construction processes have been designed to be very simple and not require excessive physical strength.
The whole construction process was designed so that anyone who wanted to participate could do so, as the learning process took no more than five minutes. That was the philosophy of the project: our aim was that everyone could participate.
We considered the inhabitants of the intervention areas as necessary and essential collaborators, as they are the only ones capable of providing the proposal with sociocultural dimensions and the necessary resilience to give it continuity once the Alumbra Sevilla programme has ended.
From the beginning, we knew that it would not be possible to satisfy all the objectives and local aspirations within the timeframe of the Luces de Barrio 2016 programme.
Our way of working does not focus on the built architectural object, but on its capacity to fulfil the objectives and programmes that made it necessary and that belong to the local communities. That is why, at Ctrl+Z, the inauguration do not mark the conclusion of a project, but really the beginning of a new phase. This case is no exception.
We will continue to work on a second phase, which will be developed independently from the original project. Its objective will be to complete some of the structures already built and to reconvert lighting elements from the inauguration to put them at the service of the social agents involved.
This process will make it possible to continue working together with the local community with low-tech construction techniques, testing their applicability, promoting the exchange of knowledge and, in the process, making a more efficient use of the public resources involved.
In the Barriada Murillo, new narratives are being created day by day, not only about cultivation, but also about self-employment and business creation. Work such as that of Verdes del Sur and IES Murube makes these narratives possible and demonstrates that they can be created at the local level. We invite you to get by and see first-hand these realities of the Barriada Murillo in the Polígono Sur.
A project by Ctrl+Z (Gianluca Stasi) and ScenoteckniaB (Begoña Almenar Benavent) in the Murillo neighbourhood of Polígono Sur for the Alumbra Sevilla 2016 programme, of the “Urban Habitat, Culture and Tourism Area of the Seville City Council”. Curators: Nomad Garden. Speakers: Surnames. Production: El Mandaito.
In collaboration with:
Asociación Verdes del Sur
(Pepe Lobillo Eguibar, Juan Manuel Blanco Cabrera, Daniel Francisco Gutierrez Cabrera, Alejandro Ponce Nieto, Angela de la Cruz Blanco Cabrera, Antonio Grande Rojo, Francisca de Asis Blanco Cabrera, Josefina Blanco Cabrera, Concha Pacheco Sanchez, Julian Trenado Gomez, Manolo Vallejo Molina, Mercedes Silva Montes, Pedro Garcia Polo, Rosa Garcia Alvarez, Eusebio Bereginal Casas, Purification Cabrera, Sergio Rosado Camacho, Jennifer Montalbán Coca, Francisco Isidro Ledesma)
Joaquin Romero Murube High School
With the participation of 2nd and 3rd year students from PMAR and their teachers
(Gloria Rodriguez Cano, Juan Antonio Gonzalez Caballero, Jorge Herrero Merino, Jerome Bracho Aleman, Belen Caracena Marquez, Fco. Javier Gonzalez Sanchez)
Help and support for the project:
Javier Navarro Hidalgo, Ignacio Sánchez Martín, Javier Moreno, Horacio Pérez Real, Antonio Serrano Jiménez, Luca Borsari, Francisco del Campo Cortés, Marco Dalla Bona, Alex Lahuella, Manuel Cantillana Castro, Tiziana de Angelis, Delvis Leonor Pérez Saltarén, Germán López Mena, Luciano Auguri, Patrik, Alex, Miguel…
Acknowledgements:
Slow Food Restaurant Container
The Rinconcillo Tavern – Restaurant
Two Moons Theater
Guest artists at the opening:
Raúl Cantizano, The Mechanical Pelican (Ignacio Rodríguez Llinares), The Flamenco Machine Company, Ernesto Ojeda.
NOTE:
We would like to thank the curators and the neighbours for the opportunity and the trust they have given us.
We also present some photos by Fernando Alda.
For more information we invite you to visit their website .
ATTENTION: THIS INITIATIVE HAS BEEN DEVELOPED WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE "SOLIDARITY PROJECTS” PROGRAMME, OF THE OFFICIAL COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTS OF SEVILLE IN COLABORATION WITH Joaquín Romero Murube High School.
Since its inauguration, the centre has used the infrastructure as an outdoor classroom and for meetings, workshops and events open to the neighbourhood. Local associations such as Entre Amigos, Verdes del Sur or La Cúpula de las Letras, the school's reading club that gave the infrastructure its name, have found the dome to be a suitable place for their activities. giving their name to the equipment, they have found in the dome an appropriate place for their activities.
The adaptation of the proposal to the dynamics of the institute and the neighborhood associations with which it shares the building gave the dome great symbolic value and led local stakeholders to become involved and responsible for its care, so that it has remained in use for seven years.
The shaded space also The shaded area is also used by users of the neighbourhood vegetable gardens located in the courtyard. All this has consolidated the dome as an element of local identity.
Although it was built as part of a programme that lasted only a few weeks, its design and construction were intended to last, and it was able to do so thanks to the synergy created with local agents and their needs. However, the Sevillian sun, which is merciless to wooden elements, and above all the lack of maintenance during the pandemic, which accelerated its deterioration, led to its temporary closure for renovation in 2023.
In 2024, thanks to the support of the COAS Solidarity Projects programme, the dome was legalised and adapted as a cultural facility, replacing it with a permanent architectural installation. The aim of the new construction was to give continuity and legal backing to the infrastructure and the initiatives that fill it with life and social meaning.
The only reason why a community invests seven years of energy in maintaining a facility is because it has managed to make sense within its mental maps, that is, that it has managed to create coincidences with its aspirations and dynamics.
The only reason why such a facility, built with unsuitable for the purpose materials, has been able to last seven years, is because the community has directly and indirectly maintained it during that time.
By aligning its objectives with those of the local community, La cúpula de las letras maximises its durability over time, increasing the effectiveness of an already reduced environmental investment thanks to the choice of environmentally friendly materials and techniques.
Sustainability and inclusiveness are not added at a later stage values, but the basis of this initiative, which, despite its iconic image, has managed to integrate harmoniously into the built and socio-cultural environment in which it is located. The project is characterised by a responsible and diligent use of public funds, focused on the needs and aspirations of the target communities, and maximising its impact in terms of the common good thanks to its long duration. The project is characterized by a responsible and diligent use of public funds, focused on the needs and desires of the recipient communities, and maximizes its effectiveness in terms of the common good thanks to its long duration.
Projects such as the Cúpula de las Letras demonstrate the possibility and usefulness of carrying out projects with a view to the communities and areas in which they are developed.
The social and urban value of the activities that they allow to develop is what motivates and justifies both their maintenance by the community and the economic endowment received for their consolidation in a permanent architectural element.
They also demonstrate the economic and socio-cultural effectiveness of proposals that are committed to promoting coexistence and thus cooperation; proposals that are born, based and calibrated on local realities and coordinated with the social actors already operating in the territory, in order to promote more inclusive and sustainable environments.
Since its inauguration, the centre has used the infrastructure as an outdoor classroom and for meetings, workshops and events open to the neighbourhood. Local associations such as Entre Amigos, Verdes del Sur or La Cúpula de las Letras, the school's reading club that gave the infrastructure its name, have found the dome to be a suitable place for their activities. giving their name to the equipment, they have found in the dome an appropriate place for their activities.
The adaptation of the proposal to the dynamics of the institute and the neighborhood associations with which it shares the building gave the dome great symbolic value and led local stakeholders to become involved and responsible for its care, so that it has remained in use for seven years.
The shaded space also The shaded area is also used by users of the neighbourhood vegetable gardens located in the courtyard. All this has consolidated the dome as an element of local identity.
Although it was built as part of a programme that lasted only a few weeks, its design and construction were intended to last, and it was able to do so thanks to the synergy created with local agents and their needs. However, the Sevillian sun, which is merciless to wooden elements, and above all the lack of maintenance during the pandemic, which accelerated its deterioration, led to its temporary closure for renovation in 2023.
In 2024, thanks to the support of the COAS Solidarity Projects programme, the dome was legalised and adapted as a cultural facility, replacing it with a permanent architectural installation. The aim of the new construction was to give continuity and legal backing to the infrastructure and the initiatives that fill it with life and social meaning.
The only reason why a community invests seven years of energy in maintaining a facility is because it has managed to make sense within its mental maps, that is, that it has managed to create coincidences with its aspirations and dynamics.
The only reason why such a facility, built with unsuitable for the purpose materials, has been able to last seven years, is because the community has directly and indirectly maintained it during that time.
By aligning its objectives with those of the local community, La cúpula de las letras maximises its durability over time, increasing the effectiveness of an already reduced environmental investment thanks to the choice of environmentally friendly materials and techniques.
Sustainability and inclusiveness are not added at a later stage values, but the basis of this initiative, which, despite its iconic image, has managed to integrate harmoniously into the built and socio-cultural environment in which it is located. The project is characterised by a responsible and diligent use of public funds, focused on the needs and aspirations of the target communities, and maximising its impact in terms of the common good thanks to its long duration. The project is characterized by a responsible and diligent use of public funds, focused on the needs and desires of the recipient communities, and maximizes its effectiveness in terms of the common good thanks to its long duration.
Projects such as the Cúpula de las Letras demonstrate the possibility and usefulness of carrying out projects with a view to the communities and areas in which they are developed.
The social and urban value of the activities that they allow to develop is what motivates and justifies both their maintenance by the community and the economic endowment received for their consolidation in a permanent architectural element.
They also demonstrate the economic and socio-cultural effectiveness of proposals that are committed to promoting coexistence and thus cooperation; proposals that are born, based and calibrated on local realities and coordinated with the social actors already operating in the territory, in order to promote more inclusive and sustainable environments.
The refurbishment of La cúpola de las letras is a project by Ctrl+Z (Gianluca Stasi) carried out in the Barriada Murillo del Polígono Sur, as part of the “Proyectos Solidarios” programme of the Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos de Sevilla and in collaboration with the I.E.S. Joaquín Romero Murube (Belén Caracena Márquez, Gloria Rodríguez Cano, Jorge Herrero Merino).
This project would not have been possible without the help and support of:
Dionisio de la Rosa Morales, Ignacio Sanchez Martin, Juan Manuel Blanco Cabrera, Marcos Dominguez Alonso, Ignacio Rodriguez Llinares and Hakim Abdoul.
We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to the staff of the COAS, who took an interest in the project and gave us advice at various stages of its bureaucratic development.
NOTE: in May 2025, La Cúpula de las Letras was awarded the runner-up prize in the category of architectural design by the VI Premios COAS Arquitectura & Sociedad 2025 by the Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos de Sevilla.
The refurbishment of La cúpola de las letras is a project by Ctrl+Z (Gianluca Stasi) carried out in the Barriada Murillo del Polígono Sur, as part of the “Proyectos Solidarios” programme of the Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos de Sevilla and in collaboration with the I.E.S. Joaquín Romero Murube (Belén Caracena Márquez, Gloria Rodríguez Cano, Jorge Herrero Merino).
This project would not have been possible without the help and support of:
Dionisio de la Rosa Morales, Ignacio Sanchez Martin, Juan Manuel Blanco Cabrera, Marcos Dominguez Alonso, Ignacio Rodriguez Llinares and Hakim Abdoul.
We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to the staff of the COAS, who took an interest in the project and gave us advice at various stages of its bureaucratic development.
NOTE: in May 2025, La Cúpula de las Letras was awarded the runner-up prize in the category of architectural design by the VI Premios COAS Arquitectura & Sociedad 2025 by the Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos de Sevilla.
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