Escuela de Altos Estudios Musicales (music school)
Project: Escuela de Altos Estudios Musicales
Architects: Antón García Abril
Date: 1998-2001
Location: Historical City
Linked to specialised university studies were built inside Finca Simeón, an ancestral property on the western limit of the historical city. César Portela and Arata Isozaki were commissioned to reorganise the estate, dominated by an old house, which was rehabilitated by César Portela.
The Escuela de Altos Estudios Musicales, one of the university buildings built inside Finca Simeón, was designed by the young Madrid architect Antón García Abril, the son of the famous composer of the same name. This piece was conceived as a large cube of heavy granite pieces, of rough texture, which were cut against the grain, leaving the quarry drill marks exposed. The huge mass of the building lies on the landscaped terrain, almost without touching it. Its entrance is underneath a large metallic lintel, which enables a corner of the heavy volume's base to float above the gently rolling ground. The interior is dominated by an empty space that extends from top to bottom and connects the different areas. This empty space, which has a complex volume, gets smaller the higher up it goes and is bathed in daylight thanks to the skylight in the flat roof.
The programme's acoustic requirements were a determining factor in the design process. Its acoustic uses and conditions dictated its spatial layout and the choice of covering materials.
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Escuela de Altos Estudios Musicales (music school)
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