We propose a building whose fundamental purpose is to restore the volume lost by the inadequate demolition of Olympus, so that the new one comfortably possesses the space. That expresses the current moment, accompanying the Municipal Palace. Our intention is to privilege the enjoyment of the different spatial sequences, creating routes that generate different sensations in the users, in which as the building is toured new perspectives are discovered, which surprise the observer, inciting him to cross it. And at the same time that the building is known, the different buildings and historical spaces of the immediate context are revalued, linking the building not only formally but spatially.
The cultural function assigned to the project refers us to think of a building that expresses itself according to contemporary culture, in such a way that it manifests the current moment, simultaneously embracing contemporary uses and respect for the site. Our proposal is based on the conception of the "new Olympus" as the reinterpretation of the invariant elements of the historical context. Incorporating elements of contemporary design, such as new spatiality, understanding it as a building that responds clearly to the context, dialoguing through the interpenetration of full and empty spaces.
The context of the historic center of Mérida, we understand it as a large horizontal volume perforated by a series of voids of various dimensions that are forming from squares and streets, in the urban space, and patios in the architectural space. The building expresses an architecture that, within a simple and austere composition in formal and material resources, privileges spatiality, contributing to the current architectural culture with a management of space through the simple treatment of the elements that were abstracted from the previous building, made with prefabricated reinforced concrete.
The project is based on the reinterpretation of the old Olympus building, demolished in 1974, taken as a pre-existence, mainly from the volumetric and formal point of view.
