Casa De Cultura Da Galicia

Solange Fabião in collaboration with Steven Holl Architects, SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, Spain, 1999

FUSION

The design for a complex of cultural buildings in Santiago de Compostela proposes an open, fluid dynamic for the city, expressed in the Fusion Plans design. The various entities that inhabit the complex transcend autonomous entities, blurring with and into each other, just as cultural art forms so often do: music with poetry and opera, literature with film and history.

Open Center and Rias in Reverse: The heart of the complex is an open center. On arrival, one enters a monumental space with a large sheet of water open to the sky, framing the view of Santiago in the distance. Reflecting the stars and rain drops, the

Open Center and Rias in Reverse: The heart of the complex is an open center. On arrival, one enters a monumental space with a large sheet of water open to the sky, framing the view of Santiago in the distance. Reflecting the stars and rain drops, the water becomes the source of five "Rias in Reverse,” or inverted river valleys. Its trails flow down to forming aquatic gardens dedicated to the main Galician cities: A Coruña, Lugo, Orense, Pontevedra, and Santiago de Compostela.

Fusion: Architectural and metaphorical fusion facilitates potential and unexpected interactions between the diverse programs of the complex. Shifts in program coalesce with turns and twists in plan, and the complex’s functions are distinct and identi

Fusion: Architectural and metaphorical fusion facilitates potential and unexpected interactions between the diverse programs of the complex. Shifts in program coalesce with turns and twists in plan, and the complex’s functions are distinct and identified through their architectural forms.

Intersection: Passages between cultural areas become an important catalyst. For example, the Museum of Galicia fuses with the Contemporary Museum, and the Institute for Sound and Image with the Libraries, in crossover connections allowing different p

Intersection: Passages between cultural areas become an important catalyst. For example, the Museum of Galicia fuses with the Contemporary Museum, and the Institute for Sound and Image with the Libraries, in crossover connections allowing different programming options for curators and users.