Built to be ruins

Abstract: The Spanish newspaper El País wrote on the 25th of November 2015 that Spain has 3,4 million empty homes. Today one sees skeletons of unfinished buildings scattered throughout the country as well as finished buildings uninhabited due to corruption and diminished investment opportunities. We can no longer expect that the buildings we design will inhabit the same program throughout their lifetime. I would therefore like to prove the flexibility of these buildings and the potential that they carry to adapt to new programs. This diploma project examines the transformation of a concrete skeleton in the South of Spain that was destined to become a shopping center. Instead it has stood still, bare and empty for 25 years. The project proposes a change of function from shopping center to high school that aims to provide the community with facilities in an area that is largely populated by tourists. A variety of studies have been conducted that examine the building's construction and grid system to gain a broader understanding of the possibilities available in the transformation of an abandoned concrete building. These studies have been documented and compared in order to arrive at conclusions best suited for the project