Around noon this Thursday, in the same Buñuel cinema, of the CIC El Almacén, the envelopes with the names of the winners of the ideas competition for the rehabilitation of this cultural center were opened. The project chosen to start the works will be that of Luis Díaz Feria, from the company Acta Arquitectura S.L., located in Puerto del Carmen.
According to statements by Miguel González, Minister of Education and Culture of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, this project has been chosen for its "simplicity, since it eliminates a lot of problems of the current building". Among these problems is the accessibility for disabled people. In this way, the new project incorporates elevators and facilities for these people.
The main innovation of this project is a kind of wooden "box" that will be placed on the structure of the current building, and is expected to house the cinema, which at the same time will be expanded. It also includes a relocation of the exhibition halls, offices and the bar area, which in this project is contemplated as "a space for conversation and reflection", according to the councillor.
In addition to the El Almacén building, this project includes two other buildings in the same area belonging to the Cabildo, as well as the parking lot, which is intended to be converted into a green area, alleviating the lack of parking spaces with an underground parking lot. In fact, one of the reasons why this project has been chosen is because it integrates an entire part of the city, a part that is also part of the "Recovery of the Historic Center" project of Arrecife. "It is an axis of buildings dedicated to art and culture that will give a new dimension to the city", explained the councillor.
Regarding the execution of the works, there are still no deadlines or established budget since it is a preliminary project that still has to go through the hands of the Cabildo, as the Councillor for Culture has recalled. What González has pointed out is that these works will be carried out in several phases, in order not to close the entire center for a long period, "although, logically, there will be inconvenience for users".
The three awards
The final project may incorporate elements from those corresponding to the second and third prize, awarded to the architects Thomas Boehm and José María Rodríguez Pastrana, respectively. The prizes awarded have been 9,000 euros for the winning project, 6,000 euros for the second prize and 3,000 for the third.
