Multi-purpose building

Ondarraitz

• Architects

The building sits on a sloping plot at the edge of the urban center of Tajonar, in the Aranguren Valley (Navarre), opening to the south toward the mountain range that gives the town its name.

The commission—a flexible container for cultural and community uses—is resolved through a stone base on which a lightweight timber structure rises.

The ground floor is conceived as a plinth of local natural stone masonry that absorbs the changes in level of the terrain. It houses a hall that can be divided into two parts by a movable partition, along with the linear core of circulation and restrooms, relegated to the north side in order to free up the sunnier orientations. Below grade, a basement of equal area concentrates storage and building services.

In contrast to the solidity of the base, the upper timber volume allows a high degree of glazing, establishing a continuous relationship between interior and exterior. The first floor is resolved as a single, open-plan space overlooking the landscape. The hipped roof, finished in ceramic tile, moderates the impact on the neighboring residential buildings.

On the façades, the rhythm of timber mullions and the sequencing of openings order the whole. The proportion of the openings and the combination of materials—stone and timber—link the building to the traditional constructions of the surrounding area.

Inside, the structural timber is left exposed, in dialogue with light-colored surfaces, ceramic and timber flooring, and glazed partitions that preserve transparency between rooms.