Salburua Civic Center

The Civic Center is a building that combines sporting, cultural and administrative uses to service the neighborhood Salburua in Vitoria. The project conceives the civic center as a gathering of people to carry out various social, cultural, recreational or sports activities.

The program of the building is divided into three levels:
– The ground floor has more public uses such as a café, lounge, hall, conference room, etc.
– The basement has all sports facilities except for the pool.
– The first floor has administrative areas, cultural spaces (library, study room, Infotek and workshops) and the pool with its own dressing room.

photography by © Aitor Ortiz

The floor conveys this concept of diffusion thanks to a glass façade through which you can see what is happening inside, and even across the street, establishing a fusion between urban space and inside the civic center, strengthening its public character.
In contrast, the first floor has a less permeable, more abstract language, avoiding the usual human scale, in order to obtain a stronger and more powerful image.

photography by © Aitor Ortiz

Despite being a very compact building of approximately 110×60 meters, it is very bright thanks to the many patios that traverse the entire building and that help establish visual relationships between the various activities taking place in the center.

photography by © Aitor Ortiz

Project Info
Architects: ACXT
Location: Araba, Spain
Project director: Juan Luis Geijo (Project); Juan Dávila (Works)
Project Architect: Gonzalo Carro
Other architects: Maria Robredo, Oscar Ferreira, Javier Manjón, Aintzane Gastelu-Iturri, Daniela Bustamante, Beatriz Pagoaga, Aitziber Olarte
Area: 12840.0 sqm
Year: 2015
Type: Cultural Center
Photographs: Aitor Ortiz