Comment of the Holcim Awards 2005 Jury for Europe
This project is commended for its innovative response to the challenge of activating peripheral territories through an approach that is both functionally generic - ie: allowing programmatic variety and flexibility - and architecturally specific. The work offers lessons in how to harness the untapped potential urban spaces and at the same time make a positive contribution to the local community.
Of significance is the project's public character that permits a wide range of uses to a diverse population of users. The project is economically self-sustaining because it generates "clean" energy that can be sold to large distributors at prices higher than normal (through special Spanish regulations).
Functioning as a feasible social attractor, the project has a positive impact on the street environment while also serving to call collective attention to environmental concerns. A successful integration of natural and artificial building materials is achieved, lending the work an aesthetically refined quality that provides a convincing contemporary expression ito the context.