Year: 2025
Status: Contest. First place
Location: Amurrio, Alava
Architects: TAPER
Technical architect: Estela Gutiérrez Asensio
Client: Amurrio Town Hall
The project proposes the renovation and expansion of the Amurrio local pelota court, reinforcing its role as a central public facility and improving its relationship with the urban environment. The intervention is based on respect for the original building, preserving its main exposed brick volume and concrete structure, which are cleaned and consolidated to restore its architectural integrity.
The proposal is completed with a new, light-weight volume, designed to reorganise the entrances and update the interior functionality. This volume takes the form of a cantilevered metal walkway that defines a new longitudinal elevation towards Larrinaga Street and the square. Its metal structure with vertical slatted cladding creates a contemporary rhythm that dialogues with the modulation of the existing building, establishing a balance between solidity and transparency. This new front acts as an active façade, open to the square and the pedestrian space, integrating lower linear lighting that reinforces safety and the night-time perception of the environment.
The ground floor is dedicated to sports and service facilities, with changing rooms for both sexes, adapted changing rooms and a new gym with an open façade to the outside. A separate entrance allows for independent use of these facilities, clearly separating the routes taken by athletes and the public. Under the stands are the referees’ changing rooms, first aid room, anti-doping control and the pelota club offices, completing the functional programme.
The first floor houses the new main entrance, open to the street and the square, as well as a lobby designed as a social space. This level also houses the tavern-bar, with independent access and an active façade facing the public space. The lobby leads to a cantilevered walkway that leads to the stands, avoiding the need to walk across the court. A longitudinal crack in the rebound wall visually connects the new volume with the fronton space, creating a viewpoint and additional stands.
The intervention incorporates sustainability and circular economy criteria through the improvement of the thermal envelope, the renovation of the roof, the use of durable and low-maintenance materials, natural lighting using opal polycarbonate, and the installation of photovoltaic panels for self-consumption, ensuring efficient, functional architecture that is consistent with its urban context.