Pensioners Community Center / Antonio Altarriba Comes

Architect: Antonio Altarriba Comes

Location: Avenida Ausias March Almassera, Valencia, Spain
Team: Antonio Altarriba Comes, Carlos Maeso de Vicente
Collaborators: María Salinas Molto

The main idea is to create a building that suits its immediate surroundings, being in direct relation with the green areas around it, opening itself to the Ausias March avenue and to the green area beside, and closing out the industries at the rear of the building.

Having just a few m2 build up, 229.00m2, the building is mostly related with the outside, to achieve the maximum depth of field.

For this reason the edification gets materialized through a fold which has all the program, and only drilled with three independient pieces that have secondary uses.

The main area is based on the west part of the building, being in direct relation with the adjacent park and the access. This area is complemented with the outside terrace, which allocates the reception of the building and joins the building with the green area through a set of steps that allows the direct access to the garden.

The secondary areas get materialized through three bodies that accommodate the rest of the proposed uses. These three volumes differ due to their materials, black concrete for the external perimeter and iroko wood for the walls and for their volume, as they have a lower height than the general height of the building.

This allows to generate an area in between the secondary volume and the main one, which is useful to allocate a small technical camera where the installations can be kept.

The main use of the building will be a social home for pensionists. For this reason the main area of the building is designed as a clear space which is in direct relation with the outside terrace and the colindant park.

Other secondary departments will be used for an office of a podiatrist, a hairdresser saloon and an office for the association. These get complemented with sanitary rest rooms and a kitchen-bar to attend the main area. It has secondary ways to access the rest rooms, so the access is not related with the shared area.

To sum up, the aim is to create an arquitechtonic piece widely opened to its immediate enviroment where future users can enjoy the park and its surroundings.