TORRUBIANOarquitectura

PRESS RELEASE
August 30, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 


MIGUEL TORRUBIANO AWARDED HONOURABLE MENTION BY BARCELONA TOWN HALL

Miguel Torrubiano's project "Social Heritage" for the remodelling of a late XIX century building in Barcelona into a modern state-of-the-art Cultural Centre has been awarded an honourable mention by Barcelona's Town Hall. The jury outstands "the high quality and conceptual value of the project".

"La Violeta" is located in the heart of Barcelona's Gracia district. The project by Torrubiano considers the existing building a considerable cultural and social form of heritage, not specifically for its architectural significance, but for its value for society through the past century, as a point of reunion for locals. The building, to be remodelled intensively, must still reflect its history and origins, though looking towards the present and future needs of society.

The design preserves the current building from a volumetric point of view, maintaining the same facade and the access points to the building, as well as part of the old bar, as the neighbours demanded. A new independent -- though transparent -- structure will replace the current one, in a poor state and not up to today's security standards. The new structure, built along the internal perimeter, will reinforce the existing walls and gain an extra floor.

The heart of the project is a steel and glass vertical structure that spans all 3 levels, capturing daylight and flooding the building with clarity. The structure reaches the roof and sprouts horizontally, evolving into a canopy in open air. This allows for the creation of a green plaza on the roof, equipping the building with a second bar or restaurant, providing an unparallelled source of social participation, as well as a source of income for the investor, in such a wonderful location in Barcelona.

TORRUBIANOarquitectura is led by architect Miguel Torrubiano and co-founder Xavier Sanchez-Roemmele, engineer and Acoustics professor. The company has offices in Barcelona and Madrid, and counts with a team of architects, engineers and designers who specialize in sustainable architectural projects that result from an evolved and consistent creativity.

Images of the project can be downloaded from the "Press" section of TORRUBIANOarquitectura's website, at www.torrubiano.com

For further information, please contact Sylvia Perez at sylvper@torrubiano.com

COMPANY INFORMATION:
TORRUBIANOarquitectura
Paseo Fabra i Puig 313, 3-2
08031 Barcelona (Spain)
www.torrubiano.com