Architect: Calderon-Folch Studio
Typology: Community center, library and theatre
Location: Begues, Barcelona
Construction Date: 2014
Photos by: Pol Viladoms
The community centre El Roure and the library La Ginesta are a mix cultural facility which includes a community centre with a multipurpose theatre and a municipal library as a result of a joint work among technicians, administration and citizens. Fully integrated into its surroundings, the centre is a social and cultural catalyst which enhances a natural space by the landscape recovering of Begues Stream and of a downy oak which names the centre.
Begues, a municipality located in Garraf Natural Park, required a library, a community centre and a multipurpose theatre. To carry out the project, in which several local organisations and three different administrations are participating, a triangular plot which goes along the edge of Begues Stream was arranged.
The design began with the de nition of an agreed and adequatefunctional programme and it culminated in the name’s choice by the citizens of Begues and the cataloguing process of a downy oak for its cultural value.
Two main ideas underpin the conception of the new facility:to generate a con uence “inner square” and to tune into theenvironment revitalising the Stream.
Designed with sustainability criteria, the building has type“A” Energy Ef ciency National Certi cation. Its main features and bene ts are Passive design reducing energy consumptioncompared to baseline, a heating and DHW supplied by a Biomass Central, the use of renewable materials and a rainwater harvesting system.