An erstwhile prison and school, El Roser Social Centre in Reus bares latent edifices

The adaptive reuse of heritage structures especially displays a fond propensity toward the realm of social architecture, with a number of these structures morphing into people-hubs irrespective of the role they held in their previous lives. Not only is it hearteningly reflective of a shift in our perspectives with regards to social, public, and communal space, it may also contribute to an increased "publification" of spaces, exposing potentially significant architecture to a greater audience, while at the same time involving a greater number of stakeholders in its social reclamation. The other important facet in the adaptive reuse of heritage is the degree to which the original structure is paid reverence. Restoring the building to as close to its original form as possible using modern tools may seem like the most obvious choice, but to enable a transformation of purpose as stated above, and not just motif and style, the structure needs to accommodate sensitive interventions that define and mould the new spatial sense, while still being highly respectful of the original structure. That is when truly new avenues for adaptive public reuse are discovered and brought into being. The El Roser Social Centre in Reus, Tarragona, strives for and thrives within that balance, revelling in bringing its verdant, rustic past to the fore, sensitively transforming the city’s old prison building with a definitive architectural character of its own.

Designed by Barcelona-based Josep Ferrando, in collaboration with Gallego Arquitectura, the social centre takes cues from both the original prison building, built in 1929, and the school building it was transformed into in 1979. The original structure, a congregation of linear volumes in brick and rubble, was additionally listed as a Cultural Asset of Local Interest and included in the Inventory of the Architectural Heritage of Catalonia. With the remarkably modernistic interventions, the old structural and spatial typologies collude to form a shelter for the homeless, a soup kitchen, and a community space, bringing together the social services of the city, making it the first comprehensive facility of its kind. The resultant narrative also alludes to the metaphor of correction in place of incarceration as a means of social rehabilitation, wherein a facility for holding people is transformed into first, a place for education and enlightenment, and then, a sociable space with an amenable spatial framework. What’s additionally interesting is that both of the former spaces, requiring a sense of confinement to work, now operate in expanses sans the rather rigid compartmentalisation that is characteristic of the two typologies.

The minimalistic yet impactful intervention by the architects is based on the idea of having the project's variable "strata of time" interact and dialogue with each other, with the concealed construction layers now revealed in the new design. A renewed sense of connection is forged with this estranged architecture, baring the transformation to its audience not as a finished product, but as a process in itself. The architecture of the social centre ascribes to completely respect the original construction, but the process by which it does so is a dichotomous victory. It proceeds in building, constructing in a way that reveals, highlights what came before it and the construction typology of the time - now an austere image. The building itself is its own museum.

The new elements in the composition are all lightweight, evoking a sense of ethereality, tectonically added to the canon brick and rubble structure. In contrast to this, a stereotomic approach is applied to the mass of the existing structure. The closed spaces in the H-shaped layout are permeated by opening the layout across the two courtyards in the middle of the linear arms of the assembly to create new lines of sight, reminiscent of Palladian open courts. "The interpretation, functioning and routes around the building's interior are reassessed, as they are at urban level, changing its relation with the immediate environs," states the design team at Josep Ferrando Architecture on the project's urban level reflections.

Part of the project's public-urban aspirations are materialised by eliminating the wall surrounding the prison yard, a most direct manifestation of the place now being open to public in a renewed manner. The monumental archway that earlier served as the entrance to the prison is retained in isolation, even with the wall propping it knocked down, as a distinct wayfinding marker bearing direct association with the remnants of the existing structure. A diagonally running slender steel structure recalls this fallen wall, while "threading" the three different historical periods, adding a dash of colour to the proceedings, and reinstating the porous alternation of its spaces. The idea of a palimpsest is driven home through the steel interventions especially, including the linear freestanding steel colonnade, windows, and a distinct pitched roof tying the brick and rubble assembly together. 

Project Details

Name: El Roser Social Centre
Location: Reus, Tarragona, Spain
Surface area: 1.323,15 m2 Client: Reus City Council
Designers: Josep Ferrando Architecture, Gallego Arquitectura
Team: Josep Ferrando, David Recio, Xavi Gallego (Principals); Alex Font, Arnau Sumalla, Ilaria Caprioli, Albert Chavarria, Adrià Maldonado, Maristella Pinheiro, Clara Ebert
Structural Consultants: Calmat
Envelope Consultants: XMADE
Energy Efficiency Consultants: Aiguasol
Quantity Surveyors: BIM Arq Eng + ASC-Arquitect
Contractor: Vesta