PROJECT’S NAME: Visitors’ Centre of the Roman Theatre of Málaga
SITUATION: Calle Alcazabilla s/n, Málaga (España)
AUTHORS: Antonio Tejedor Cabrera , Mercedes Linares Gómez del Pulgar
PROJECT TEAM STATICS: Pedro Lobato Vida   
PROJECT TEAM TECHNICAL ARHICTECTS: Víctor Baztán Cascales, Antonio Alba Molina
PHOTOGRAPHER: Fernando Alda
COMPETITION: 1. Prize. 2002
PROJECT: 2003-2010
COMPLETION: May 2010
OPENING: October 2010

Preservation and cultural projection have been part of national identities for many centuries. It is an on going process that searches for remains of a past society that further informs us of the place, people and culture that once occupied the area. In the hillside of the Spanish-Moorish fortress of the Alcazaba lies the remains of a Roman theatre, a monument protected and now projected to the rest of the world. Since 2002, the Roman Theatre of Málaga in Spain has been carrying projects in archeology to further investigate its historic roots but simultaneously carrying projects that will unfold a space that allows visitors to experience such history.

These archeological projects continue to grow and evolve but it is now to a point that the Cultural Administration of Andalucia has made the decision to present these findings to the public, as validation of truth or perhaps as a gift to humanity or both.  The new Visitor Centre of the Roman Theatre in Málaga is a 172 m2 surface assigned to serve two fundamental needs in this program: to present and archive the archeological remains recovered from the site in an accessible medium for a non specializing public and to provide support to the on going archeological works.
 

Designed by Tejedor Linares & Associates, the Visitor Centre is more than a project, it is part of a system that must be fully integrated with the historic site, the visitors, and the city beyond. It acts as a cultural axis that passes the Native House of Pablo Picasso, the Alcazaba, the Museum of Málaga and the Picasso Museum. This axis leads the city into an experience of the past and future of the area, uncovering layers of Spanish culture that touch art, entertainment and civic remains.

The building is honest in materials to prevent calling attention away from the Theatre. Coloured concrete and cream coloured limestone integrate perfectly with the natural tones of the soil shade that unfolds the Theatre, the hillside and the walls of the Alcazaba. To activate the elevated facade, the use of flat panels based on thermosetting resins and finished in wood wrap the front giving it lightness in appearance and a unique relationship to the archeological remains. An interesting environmental graphic element sets a tone of expressive history and invites visitors to enter the space. The typographic characters tie us to the penmanship of the Romans and allows us to directly connect with the roots of our romance language. It reflects the city back to us giving us a portal of the past and the present in order for us to envision the future. From the interior, a fenestration is sculpted to allow visitors to voyeur the site and get a grasp of its importance in history. This serigraphic glass with the Lex Malacitana communicates the laws of the Roman municipality of Málaga in the last first century. This graphic condition is a beautiful system in Latin that supports the context and gives texture to the architectural volume while calling the city to further inquire the emergent cultural heritage of the area.

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