Two independent buildings

The first decision we have taken in tackling the project for the new Congress Centre of the Cityof Alicante -CCCA- has been to clearly separate the two typological natures of the project into two independent volumes. On the one hand, a longitudinal office building, simple and orderly, which incorporates all the parking facilities in the area. On the other hand, a building-viewpoint for public uses, compact and at the same time porous, which will house the Congress Centre and will be the representative heart of this new urban space for the city of Alicante.

A vertical garden in the shade

We envision a highly permeable public space, allowing pedestrians to reach the water's edge naturally at any time of the day, without unnecessary changes in elevation and without barriers to prevent them from doing so. An urban lounge with palm trees and other species will complete the system of green spaces on the city's waterfront. This hall will be completed in the CCCA building with an ascending green space, like a vertical garden, which will become a public viewpoint, offering an unprecedented experience of the city and its coastline from above. Adequately oriented, the vertical garden-viewpoint will offer, at the same time, shade and coolness to the visitors of the congress center and to the strollers approaching the port, becoming an element of public attraction which will help to revitalize the port area.

Compact yet porous

Opting for a vertical typology for the Congress Centre building makes it possible to reduce its footprint, maximize the free space at street level and build a new lighthouse visible to all, symbolising the renewal of the port of Alicante. The program, strictly dimensioned, are stacked in a compact and efficient vertical body with a slightly broken geometry on the façade to lighten its imposing presence. Surrounding this almost rocky piece is a collection of horizontal planes perforated with hollows of free geometries on which the vegetation grows. This sequence of open, non-air-conditioned planes forms the circulation and access system for all the uses of the CCCA, and expands the foyer surface, giving the structure a great versatility of exterior spaces tempered for possible alternative uses.