Magic Circle
If you look closely at the striking landscape above, you’ll see a ring. This space-age structure is the new Centro de Tecnificacion Deportiva, a giant circular building created by José María Sánchez García in Guijo de Granadilla, western Spain.
From the air, it’s magnificent, in its shape and setting. From the ground it looks like a series of shipping containers slotted together in a huge arc. Inside it’s a research, training, recreation and business facility for sports professionals, with an information center, laboratories, accommodation and cafe. Lucky them.
The environment has dictated something of its structure. The narrow neck of land it’s built on is subject to flooding – hence the stilts. Leaving the building immune to any rising floodwaters. But the rest of the design is creative whimsy, using space in an unconventional, unexpected way, providing a new perspective.
‘It’s a magic circle, leaving cares and exertions outside, and providing rest and reflection inside,’ says Garcia. RM
Images: José María Sánchez García
2010 Mar 6
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