Teatro Cervantes
Arnedo, La Rioja, Spain
Frechilla & López-Peláez

Modern design stresses adaptability

© Duccio Malagamba

For more photos click on 'photos & drawings' above. To see the people and products behind this project click on 'people & products.'

Occupying the site of the original theater which was closed in 1992, this 500-seat facility is centrally located on a corner block in the modest-sized city of Arnedo. While it responds respectfully to the scale of the surrounding buildings, it is conspicuously contemporary. The issue of flexibility was crucial in this provincial city with only one theater, so the new facility could be adapted for use as a cinema, auditorium, dance room, exhibition area, and even as a gathering place for civic meetings.

At the heart of the building is the technically sophisticated auditorium, made versatile with a rear tier of retractable seats and a mobile floor and proscenium arch that enables it to be transformed into a conventional hall. Mahogany paneling on the floors and lower portions of the wall enhance the acoustics. The upper walls are of plaster painted dark blue, while the seats are a kaleidoscope of colors.

The interior is distinguished by the variety of ways in which it can be used. A network of galleries, bridges, bars, balconies, foyers, and dressing rooms are interspersed around the performance space. The main foyer is under it, with dressing rooms and offices in the south to take advantage of natural light. Beneath the auditorium are rehearsal, study, and activity rooms.

A long foyer and balcony protrudes over the main avenue on the first floor, radiating light and life to the street below. Small vertical window slits are cut into the massive concrete flanks forming an abstract pattern along the side of the building, and Brazilian ipé wood forms a dark base around the perimeter of the exterior.

Formal name of building:
Teatro Cervantes

Location:
Arnedo, La Rioja, Spain

Gross square footage:
38,900 sq.ft.

Total construction cost:
$ 3.4 million

Owner:
City Council of Arnedo, The Rioja, Spain sponsored by
Dirección General para la Vivienda, el Urbanismo y la Arquitectura
  -Ministerio de Fomento de España
  -Consejería de Cultura of the C.A. La Rioja, Spain
  -Ministry of Culture of Spain

Architect's firm:
Frechilla & López-Peláez, architects (FLP) S.L
Gabriel Lobo, 6 28002, Madrid, Spain
T· 341 562 59 27 F.341 5621003