San Juan Bautista Shelter Project: Redefining the Relationship Between Heritage and Academic Functionality

Urban Educational Initiative

This project stems from the European University’s vision to develop a new urban campus in the city of Valencia. The design aims to create a comprehensive learning environment that reflects the institution’s values and supports its future goals.

Harmony Between Heritage and Modernity

Care was taken to preserve the institution’s intellectual heritage while integrating modern architectural elements that meet the demands of contemporary education. This balance reflects the university’s commitment to training professionals capable of facing future challenges without compromising its educational history.

User-Centered Design

The architects focused on creating multifunctional learning spaces where students engage with a stimulating educational environment that encourages interactive and innovative learning. The design also ensures smooth circulation within the campus, enhancing the user experience and making it more effective.

Valuable Architectural Heritage

The former San Juan Bautista shelter, built in the Neoclassical style in 1873, carries a rich historical and architectural legacy. The building demonstrates great potential for rehabilitation, making it an ideal starting point for projects that require the integration of history with contemporary design.

Strategic Location and Urban Significance

The building occupies a prominent location in the city of Valencia, opposite the Valencia Institute of Modern Art (IVAM) and adjacent to the former Turia River course. This site offers proximity to the historic center, allowing the building to serve as a key connection point between the old and the contemporary, enhancing its role in the urban fabric and creating links among the city’s various elements.

Integrating Heritage into the Urban Environment

Thanks to its exceptional location, the building provides opportunities to balance heritage preservation with the development of new functions that meet the needs of a modern city. It stands as a practical example of sustainable and effective historical building rehabilitation.

Transforming Heritage into Contemporary Education

The architectural project aims to convert the former shelter into an educational center that meets the demands of the 21st century. The work is not limited to restoring the historic building; it also seeks to create a learning environment that encourages interaction, innovation, and academic growth.

A Multicultural Learning Environment

The campus is designed to accommodate approximately 2,000 students, including a significant number of international students. This diversity contributes to enhancing academic innovation and creates opportunities for the exchange of knowledge and experiences in the heart of the city, making the campus a platform for cultural interaction and dynamic learning.

Integration of Education and the Urban Community

Through this project, the campus becomes an active part of the urban fabric, blending history and modernity while enabling students to engage effectively with the surrounding environment, all while preserving the architectural and historical values of the original building.

Respecting Historical Architecture

One of the core principles of the project is recognizing and preserving the architectural value of the existing building. In the rehabilitation of the San Juan Bautista shelter, emphasis was placed on safeguarding the historical legacy of the building while ensuring the continuity of its contemporary function.

Restoring Historical Details

The restoration work included key elements such as the Nolla mosaics, stone floors, the church, and the cloisters, reflecting careful attention to maintaining the intricate architectural details that convey the site’s historical character.

Integrating Old Materials with Contemporary Solutions

The architects aimed to strike a balance between original and new materials, employing modern design solutions that preserve the building’s essence and history. This approach allows the building to continue being used practically without compromising its architectural value.

Design Focused on Flexibility and Efficiency

The architectural design responds to the institution’s academic needs, emphasizing flexibility and efficiency in the use of spaces. Clear and balanced planning allows the academic program to be organized smoothly, ensuring easy circulation and interaction among various educational and administrative units.

Overall Structure and Space Distribution

The building is organized around two wings containing cloisters, where classrooms and offices are located. The central body houses shared spaces designed to serve as areas for interaction and collaboration between students and faculty members. Meanwhile, the spaces facing the main façade are allocated to administrative areas, creating a balance between academic and administrative use.

A Dynamic Learning Environment

The classrooms feature a double façade connecting the outdoor garden with the interior cloisters, enhancing students’ access to natural light and creating a sense of openness to the surrounding environment. The cloisters serve as circulation zones and meeting points, fostering interaction and creating a dynamic, collaborative learning environment where students and faculty can freely engage and work together.

Integrated Architectural Addition

In addition to rehabilitating the historic building, the project includes the construction of a new annex on the western side of the site. This extension aims to expand the campus functions while maintaining visual and architectural harmony with the existing complex.

Respecting Style and Materiality

The new annex was designed with careful consideration of the original materials, color palette, and compositional rhythms of the historic building. This approach ensures a continuous dialogue between old and new, preserving the architectural identity of the site.

Creating a Harmonious Contemporary Space

Ultimately, the annex delivers a contemporary architectural volume that integrates seamlessly with the protected historic complex, allowing expanded uses without compromising the heritage character of the original building.

A Benchmark in Heritage Intervention

This architectural ensemble is located in the heart of Valencia, becoming a model example in the field of historic building rehabilitation.

Integrating Design with Functionality

The project highlights how architectural design interacts with functionality, contributing to the creation of a learning and working environment that enhances the experience of space use. This allows users to make the most of the site in a harmonious and efficient manner while respecting the building’s historical identity.

✦ ArchUp Editorial Insight

It can be noted that the rehabilitation project of the San Juan Bautista shelter offers several advantages that may serve as a reference for similar projects, such as its focus on integrating heritage with modern functionality and creating a multicultural learning environment within the urban fabric of the city. This reflects the potential to study how historic buildings can be repurposed in a way that balances preserving architectural identity with meeting contemporary needs.

However, the project may raise some concerns regarding the heavy reliance on the new annex to expand space, which could dilute the original experience of the historic building and raise questions about the long-term harmony between modern extensions and the existing structure. Additionally, the project’s emphasis on international students and an interactive environment may not necessarily reflect the needs of all local users, calling for a broader study of the campus’s diverse uses.

Moreover, balancing old and new materials can present challenges in terms of future maintenance and cost, while also providing an opportunity to explore advanced methods for integrating contemporary architectural solutions within historic buildings. From this perspective, the project can be considered more as an analytical case study than a definitive practical reference, offering lessons in urban planning and rehabilitation while highlighting the need for further study to determine the actual limits of this approach.

project location

Prepared by the ArchUp Editorial Team

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