April 27, 2006

Image courtesy the architects

Brazil’s Oscar Niemeyer, 1989 recipient of Spain's Prince of Asturias Prize, is designing a cultural complex dedicated to the prizes. Niemeyer will turn 99 this year.

The $30 million, 100,000-square-foot center will be a key element in the urban revitalization of Avilés, a former industrial port in the Principality of Asturias, on Spain's north coast. Princes of Asturias Prizes are awarded to recipients from several fields in an annual ceremony in the nearby city of Oveido. The prizes are celebrating their 25th anniversary this year.

The complex will occupy a 150,000 square foot plaza at the head of Avilés' narrow bay, connecting the old city on one bank with new developments on former industrial land on the opposite side. A concrete hemisphere containing a large auditorium for concerts and meetings will be connected to a wave-like concrete arch housing a museum by a floating, serpentine-shaped canopy. A curved block of offices encloses the plaza on its landward side. The Principality of Asturias will finance the project. Niemeyer is currently working on projects in Brazil, Mexico, Portugal, Russia and elsewhere.

David Cohn

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