[AleaOlea architecture & landscape]

The Old Church of Vilanova de la Barca (Lleida, Spain) is a 13th-century Gothic building that was partially demolished in 1936 because of the bombings of Spanish Civil War. Since then, the church was in a general state of ruin preserving just its apse, some fragments of the naves and the western façade.

The main aim of the project was the restoration of the original appearance of the church and its transformation in a new multi-purpose hall. The most important part of this intervention has focused on the covering elements. The project establishes a new brick façade based on a latticework texture and a new gabled Arab tile roof. The whole system is conceived as a new architectural ceramic shell that is gently supported on the remains of the ancient walls.

From outside, the perception of the old church is restored, meanwhile inside the building, the project intensifies the entrance of natural light due to the new windows, the new proposed patio or thanks to the white rendering walls that have been introduced. Thus, the project establishes an architectural dialogue between the old and the new, past and present. Text description by the architects.

Source: www.aleaolea.com
Photography by: Adrià Goula