'Can Gassol' residential building

Mataró, Spain

Photo © Shlomi Almagor

Photo © Lluís Casals

Drawing © Ruisánchez Arquitectes

Architects: Ruisánchez Arquitectes

Location: Plaça Pepa Maca, 08301 Mataró, Spain
Year: 2011

(Project in association with A.C.C. Arquitectes Associats)

After the deterioration of the old Gassol Manufacturing Industries to a state which forced its demolition, it was decided to maintain the reference and articulation of the previous urban form. The intervention, therefore, kept the linear facade of one of the main streets with the purpose to preserve its image. The nave behind it rebuilt to house a public, communal facility.

The volume of the project consists of a linear, "U" shaped block that encloses the common building, forming a new public space within. This space connects -visually and by pedestrian routes-, the surrounding streets and the neighboring plaza.

The buildings, a mix of social, subsidized and private housing, keep the alignment of the street. The ground floor, partly occupied by a municipal facility, allows permeability from the street to the new public space.

On the facade facing the public space of the neighboring block, the ground floor is emptied, enhancing connectivity between the public spaces.

This same building maintains the alignment of the street and rises at the corner, but withdraws its facade to allow direct visual of the new facility and to encourage the access to the interior of the block.