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| Photo courtesy of inhabitat.co |
Sant Francesc Church was originally built between 1721 and 1729 by
Franciscan priests, but after centuries of use the space had fallen into
neglect and was verging on becoming a junk yard. It had holes in the
walls, grime on the plaster, rusty old cars on the altar, and a severely
damaged facade – some people wanted to demolish it altogether.
Instead of tearing down this historically important building, the
town of Santpedor chose to renovate it into a cultural space and
auditorium.
David Closes was tasked with preserving the legacy of the building while adding the modern amenities necessary to make the building useful.
Completed recently, the church took seven years to renovate and the
result is a beautiful mashup of the historic and the modern. Closes
retained the rough and damaged facade along with the liturgical spaces,
the structurally sound arches, and anything else that could be saved.
Where the building was too damaged to restore, Closes designed modern
volumes to take their place including a glass and steel staircase on the
exterior, a new ramp above the nave, a new deck, reading cloisters and
bathrooms. New lighting was also installed in order to illuminate the
space and reveal the beauty of both the old and the new construction.
(1)
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| Photo courtesy of inhabitat.com |
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| Photo courtesy of inhabitat.com |
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| Photo courtesy of inhabitat.com |
Citation:
(1)
http://inhabitat.com/modern-interventions-used-to-renovate-the-crumbling-sant-francesc-church-in-spain/convent-de-sant-francesc-david-closes-2/?extend=1
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