Gasometro II

Máquina de los Sueños

The school of the Gasometer, “Dream machine”

The former site of Cok batteries is the place of possibilities for the region of Asturias: the heavy industries of Aviles give way today to light industries, programming, management and maintenance of machines, new technologies, as well as all the services related to the economy - media and environmental - of the tertiary sector. The raw material production sites of the 20th century are becoming multidisciplinary, knowledge and innovation production sites in the 21st century.

Located near the Llaranes train stop, the Gasometer is visible and accessible by any means of transport, from the city centre and the residential districts of the city. The gasometer is the symbolic gateway to the neighbourhood and, under this new urban vision, it must once again become an active and attractive figure, complementary to the existing uses.

Programme and sustainability

The current dimensions of the gasometer invite an interior use that takes advantage of the great height of the building and for which the constant entry of natural light is not essential for its operation and the comfort of its users.

We are aware of the current challenge - the attractiveness and maintenance of the building - posed by museum programmes, as well as the pressure to which these institutions are subjected in their mission to constantly renew exhibitions, a guarantee of profitability and, therefore, of sustainability. In this case, the renovation of the gasometer is an opportunity for Avilés to defend a programme that is not exclusively ‘touristic’. We want to propose a place of learning and cultural exchange, sustainable because it is an integral part of the life of the new district, an added value for Avilés and for the prestige of its region. More than a ‘destination’, the gasometer must become a framework of life and experience for everyone. In this sense, our choice of programme is oriented towards a place of training: a school.

After studying Spanish cultural institutions and, in particular, performing arts schools, we realise that the northern regions of Spain do not have a training entity for the new generations of acrobats, choreographers, set designers and actors of Spanish live performance. A school of Circus Arts as a public entity seems to us an ambitious programme for the region of Asturias and a remarkable civic proposal in the context of the rehabilitation of the Gasómetro de Avilés, which offers an unexpected mix to the Cok batteries.

Respecting the Gasometer’s geometry

The envelope of the gasometer is a very thin metallic skin behind which the new school is discreetly implanted. In plan, a 30-metre square is inscribed in the 20-sided regular polygon and gives a clear north-south and east-west orientation to the new building. In section, the new construction leaves the maximum volume free to preserve the heritage and facilitate its contemplation.

Flexibility and temporality

The programme of a circus school is similar to that of a sports complex or a gymnasium: it requires interior spaces with maximum flexibility and, therefore, free surfaces. The great height of the gasometer makes it possible to superimpose four ‘high’ volumes - a public square, two training rooms and a circus - linked together by ‘low’ volumes - theory classrooms, changing rooms, toilets, storerooms, etc. At the top, the circus consists of a circular stage whose entrances, stands and track are designed in such a way as to respect and enhance the gasometer disc. This space offers a close-up view of the renovated architectural heritage which, combined with the play of light and the movements of the performing bodies, promises an experience that only the imagination can limit.

The school in the gasometer has a strong social component. It becomes the place for all possible meetings in Avilés, allowing public activity during the day, night, week and weekend: extracurricular activities, space for exhibitions and conferences for the promotion of companies in the neighbourhood, screening and theatre rooms, meeting place, rooms for night shows, etc. Any use is possible.

Park for the Cok Batteries

Within its plot, the gasometer is conceived as the pavilion of a green space in the former Cok batteries. A circular, permeable mineral plaza to the north-west of the gasometer is surrounded by a carpet of greenery and a screen of tall trees around the perimeter to mitigate noise and visual disturbances from the adjacent industries. The gasometer park becomes a lunch destination for workers in the neighbourhood, a cultural stop for walkers from Aviles and elsewhere, and an outdoor training area for the students of the circus school. The park is conceived as an urban landscape continuity from the Oscar Niemeyer International Cultural Centre and complements, on the other side, the green extension of the Avilés estuary promenade.

Accessibility

The main entrance to the school faces north and the logistical access is to the east. An incision in the envelope marks the opening of the existing building and gives access, through a ‘huge door’, to the core serving all the rooms. The technical access reserved for loading and unloading goods (scenery, training equipment, etc.) is oriented to the east and opens directly onto the covered public square created by the new school (a possible exhibition site).

Structure and circularity

Metal is the historical and characteristic material of the Cok battery district. It allows the assembly of dry, modular, lightweight elements capable of supporting large span loads. It also recalls the tubular structures used to support traditional mobile circus tents. In fact, the new school (structure and circulation core) is conceived as a metal construction, assembled on site, with as much local production and reuse of elements as possible, in order to limit the environmental impact of the proposal as much as possible. The floor slabs are made of timber.

The structural module of the new building is 6 x 6 metres to divide the new building into 25 modules of 36 m² each. The organisation of interior spaces and mezzanines is possible thanks to the subdivision of the ‘high’ volumes to create the ‘low’ volumes.

Installations

The gasometer is a blind, opaque volume. The decision to perforate this ‘skin’ systematically (near the technical balconies) allows light to enter according to the path of the sun, while reinforcing the sober, industrial image of the enclosure from the outside. The reference to Dreamachine (1959) by Brion Gysin (1916-1986) is applied to the envelope of the gasometer to create a new language, a play of light perceptible from the inside. Natural ventilation on the roof and on the disc of the gasometer is combined with a mechanical aerothermal heating/cooling unit to ensure indoor comfort all year round. The volume between the existing façade and the façade of the new school acts as an intermediate thermal buffer.

The lower slab of the disc serves to divide the volume of the gasometer into two main sectors in case of fire: the school (educational) and the circus (public). As a preventive measure, the use of smoke control and fire protection systems (sprinklers) is foreseen for all spaces.