Valencia
Public
2022
The Casino of the American is a unique example in Valencia of Indiana architecture, which has been a benchmark for buildings such as the Ayora´s Palace or the Pescara´s Palace. The value of this complex is maximised because the original size of the site remains in place.
It is a residential building, of great luxury, which recreated the atmosphere of the Indianos in its architecture and gardens. Unfortunately, the lack of use that this fantastic building has received from the middle of the 20th century and up to the present has led to its degradation.
A decisive intervention is projected to recover the original volume of the building, conservative with the existing elements in the building. It is proposed to incorporate new elements to give an imprint of modernity which will result in a contrast with the existing ones.
It does not intend to restore the original construction in great detail, which is an impossible task given the state of deterioration and the limited documentation, but it does aim to recover the most relevant elements in terms of composition, decoration, history or construction. These elements will be integrated into the restoration allowing a complete renovation for its proposed future use.
The original composition of the site has been recovered, including the layout of the farming terraces and the historical fence. It has also been proposed to apply energy efficient solutions to minimise the environmental impact of the intervention.
The project defines the volumetric adequacy of the main building, eliminating those improper elements that disturb and harm the architectural quality of the building. The design also helps to clarify the internal layouts and its whole composition, establishing criteria and guidelines for the intervention on existing elements, such as its structure, the partitions and its decoration.
The proposal also determines the parameters of the new structural elements, mechanical and electrical services, lighting, etc. All these new items will be installed according to the historical review of the building and the new requirements to fulfil the needs of the new program.
A new ancillary building has also been projected to accommodate all those spaces and uses which are not appropriate in the main building, although one of its historical uses was a stable. This new building completes the volumetric composition of the complex.
Distribución y uso del edificio.
Se unifica el uso del edificio para escuela de agricultura, aunque se jerarquiza y distribuye por plantas, teniendo en cuenta como criterio de distribución que la planta baja se destinará a las piezas que albergarán visitantes ajenos a la escuela, como zona expositiva, tienda de semillas y aseos públicos.
La planta primera y parte de la planta segunda se destinan a aulas. En el resto de la planta segunda se ubican las oficinas. Sobre esta planta se sitúa la planta de bajo cubierta, sin uso excepto para albergar instalaciones. Como remate de la edificación en cruz se sitúa la torre octogonal, que recupera los huecos existentes, así como un elemento de salida a la terraza superior, mediante un nuevo elemento de casetón, también octogonal, acristalado y necesario para que el edificio recupere la proporción y esbeltez original.
Se proyecta un edificio de nueva planta auxiliar que completa la composición volumétrica original y que albergará usos complementarios del edificio principal, como el secadero de semillas y la zona de trabajo para su preparación.
Entre el edificio principal y el secundario se recupera el patio existente con aljibe central. Las proporciones de este patio son las reconocidas mediante los sondeos arqueológicos realizados.
