Galician Center of Contemporary Art Location: Santiago de Compostela, Spain Architect: Alvaro Siza Area: 1200 m2 Year: 1993

A key figure in modern Portuguese Location

architecture, Alvaro Siza Vieira (1933) The building is located in one of the most fascinating and
graduated from the School of Fine Arts symbolic monuments of Santiago de Compostela, on the edge of
in Porto in 1955. His structures,were the historic city, and beside the old entrance door of the French
characterized by a quiet clarity of form Way.
and function, a sensitive integration
1
into their environment, and a purpose-
ful engagement with both cultural and
architectural traditions. He was awar-
ded the Pritzker Prize in 1992. 1
Concept
The museum emphasizes horizontality, strengthening
the urban structure that consists of two buildings and Former convent of San Domingos Bonaval currently galego
three levels, forming an urban structure significantly. Pobo Museum, a baroque architecture style.
He designed harmony and made the buildings visually
transparent.
In terms of plan
Urban Context Program and Circulation
Elements Alvaro Siza had to take into consideration:

The museum sits atop a hill and offers a panoramic view

of the old quarter of the medieval pilgrimage town of
5 3 Santiago de Compostela.
1- The diagonal street
2-The site is adjacent to a national monument, the
17th-century baroque Convent of Santo Domingo de
2 Bonaval.
3-An abandoned garden behind the convent, which he
4
was also asked to renovate.
1 4-A section of modest houses across a diagonally-run-
Basement Plan Ground Floor Plan
ning street
5-A raised square in front of the site.

First Floor Plan Terrace Plan

The building is built around an axis, open interior spaces, constrained by high walls externally and internally flooded
with light. For the main hall can access the exhibition halls, auditorium and library. The upper terrace gives a magnifi-
cent view of the historic town. It has four floors and rooms are convertible, the terrace area can also provide exposure
container security artworks.
2 3

The entry is highlighted by the horizontal opening on both the stairs and the ramp. This horizontality is kept by eleva-
ting the structure slightly to keep the flow of inside outside persistent. One can easily walk around all the buildings
4 5 which will continue to show the same geometric facade made from granite brickw

Layout
The compact museum is formed by two linear volumes,
one parallel to the street, and the other to the church, ex-
tablishing a 21 degree angle with the facade of Santo Do-
mingo. The interpretation of these two volumes defines a
triangular void within the building extending full height.
This serves as an important element within the building to
which the organisation of the museum vitally is related.

21

Working from the roughly triangular building site, Siza devised two interlocking L-shaped volumes to connect CGAC’s
gallery wing, auditorium, library, offices, and convent. The angular placement of these shapes produced a triangular
atrium that receives and distributes light to the entire building.
 In terms of sections,Interiors and Light
A

B
Section AA
Siza designed stairs and a ramp for the entry to the museum from the main road. Above the
ramp these is a horizontal slip of windows that are the lobby and gallery, and then above
that there are 3 pairs of double windows for the offices , hid behind a wall for indirect
light

C C

Section BB Perspective Section BB

Light enters indirectly to three different areas by three dif-

ferent element compositions. In the axis of the vertical
circulation, light enters in a triangular shaped element. This
is reflecting the triangular void we find in the plan as well.
In the exhibition gallery, light enters through the cieling
into a horizontal plane, then diffuses throughout the gallery
rooms. For the offices, indirect light enters behind a small
slit of the wall.

Section CC
Secction showing the galleries and how indirect light enters through the roof and into a plane.

D E

Section EE

Three main materials: the use of granite emplastado is painted white, marble and wood. The texture of the wood
D E Section DD
gives a contrast to the predominantly white floors, walls and roofs. The white marble Greek spreads evenly over the
floor and furniture in public areas.Granite plaster is used on walls, columns and roof of the building. The marble
Section EE shows the staircase circulation for the offices and public. Section DD shows the restricted entry above the
and granite emplastado give a character of purity and calm to the entire membership. The wood is reserved for the
galleries and geometric terrace above the offices.
exhibition rooms, the amphitheater and the library.
In terms of structure, elevations and perspectives
The option of using simple materials such as granite exterior, which is everywhere in Santiago de Compostela is satisfactory, and that over time due to the porosity of the material it will lose its
original color and becomes little by little the color of the Baroque buildings, more integrated whole. The cut granite blocks forming, like the old buildings which also consists of parts or blocks.

Main Elevation

East Elevation