AHI Architectural Heritage Intervention

“Contributing to enhancing our heritage, as the way forward for 21 st Century architecture is our raison d’être; to emphasize a diverse, rich vision that necessarily complements the intervention is our mission, and achieving it with reflexive and purposeful efforts is the challenge”.

This project, founded in, and directed since, 2011 by Ramon Calonge, Oriol Cusidó, Marc Manzano and Jordi Portal, architects and members of the Group of Architects for the Defence and Intervention in Architectural Heritage (AADIPA), has, through the years become a platform that includes four actions that are both independent and transversal.
 
The European Award, a biennial event that brings together and showcases the multiple approaches of intervention in Europe.

The International Biennial, a framework that serves to compare and gain closer insight of quality interventions in architectural heritage in non-European countries.

The digital Archive, a live and open window that provides a panoramic view of interventions in the history of our surroundings.

The Forum, a meeting place where you can participate in on-going debates about the main preoccupations and lines of thought about interventions in architectural heritage in Europe.

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Plaça Major

  • Plaça Major
  • Plaça Major
  • Plaça Major
  • Plaça Major

The Plaça Major of Olot is both the geographical and symbolic heart of the city, it is defined by four rows of buildings. These are simple houses, which take on value as a whole, due to the repetition of patterns of composition, construction and decoration. The project aims to regenerate the space, highlighting heritage, rehabilitating façades and reactivating the third of the vacant homes. It is the result of conversations with residents and shopkeepers, dismissing a reurbanitzation project and allocating the funds to the buildings. Thus, a process is launched that aims to achieve full occupancy of the homes. The PMU (Urban Improvement Plan) studies the pathologies, the colour scheme based on the local tradition of enhancing facades with paint and supported by pre-existing patterns, and sets a three-year period for property owners to complete the work. The City Council covers 90% of rehabilitation costs. Accepting the subsidy requires property owners to renovate and place the vacant homes on the market within a four-year period.

Category

Exterior spaces

Edition

7
Finalist

Year

2024

Author

Un Parell d'Arquitectes
Eduard Callís Freixas, Guillem Moliner Milhau, Clàudia Calvet Gómez

Pep de Solà-Morales
Quim Domene

Project team

Xevi Rodeja, Jesús Bassols

External collaborators

BCILS Stratigraphy and chromatic studies: Gabinet del Color,
Structural advice: Blázquez Guanter
Neighbours and shopkeepers of the square
Nucli Antic neighbourhood council
Garrotxa Activa
Finques gestió patrimonial
Technical services of the Olot City Council
Local occupation plan

City

Olot

Country

Spain

Surface area sqm

5.710

Cost €

600.000

Client

Public
Ajuntament d'Olot

Original Programme

Public Space

Programme

Public Space

© Photographer

José Hevia, Roger Serrat-Calvó

Períod

Vernacular

Type of intervention

Transformation

Level of intervention

Partial