Arts Center of Verin: A Masterpiece by Zooco Estudio

Designing Community: The Intimacy of a Home, The Heterogeneity of a Town

The inspiration for the Arts Center of Verin was drawn from the city's urban nucleus. The city of Verin is characterized by the heterogeneity of its blocks, each unique in shape but similar in setting. Zooco Estudio took this basic premise and transformed it into a design concept where each use of the program is materialized as a unit, a volume that aligns to the edge of the plot, creating a space of coexistence and relationship, devoid of hierarchies, and supporting the idea of a small community.

The Arts Center of Verin is unique in its design properties. It provides the intimacy of a home and the heterogeneity of a town. Each use of the program required is materialized as a unit, a volume that aligns to the edge of the plot, creating a space of coexistence and relationship, without hierarchies, supporting the idea of a small community. It is a place defined by its own flexibility, unpredictable, and something involuntary that occurs as a result of the relationships of their own uses.

The realization of this design was achieved through the use of local materials. The façade is constructed of stone granite grey Alba 711-6 from Pontevedra, creating a self-supporting wall of 18 cm. The flooring chosen for the square is a paving stone in the same color as the façade, gray granite alba, in a 10 x 10 format. The roof garden not only absorbs a significant part of the sun's radiation, but the vegetation also works as heat insulation, achieving optimal conditions inside the building. This cover also allows the accumulation of rainwater, further enhancing the sustainability of the design.

The design was not without its challenges. Each part of the building had to work separately and be considered as different units, yet maintain a relationship with the others. The budget of the project was reduced, so the decision was made to use local materials like stone. Another remarkable aspect of the building is its sustainable manner, due to the materials in the urban land (Green spaces and recyclable pavement) and the installations, that allows energy and water savings.

The Arts Center of Verin is a testament to the power of design in shaping community spaces. It was awarded Silver in A' Architecture, Building and Structure Design Award in 2017, a testament to its innovative design and architectural prowess. The center is a great home or small town, where the intimacy of a home and the heterogeneity of a town is provided. It is a place where its units work as separate houses and as a town all together. The project considers the environment and works by following the scheme of urbanism of the city of Verin.