Foneria dels Canons

The main aim of the work on the ground floor was to restore La Foneria as a stand-alone building. By opening up the passage between the rear courtyard and the street, La Rambla, a new pathway encircles the building and brings its four façades back to life. This space brings together the service areas and the circulation routes on all floors. In the centre, the main staircase extends from the original layout and generates a shaft of light that structures the public pathway from La Rambla to the roof.

Following the sequence of the building's main levels, the transformation preserves the independence of the upper floors from the great hall, clearly separating the two types of use. The skylight in the central courtyard is replaced with a climatic device located on the second floor, transforming the courtyard into a large indoor atrium. The project partially removes the ironwork on the third floor, which dignifies the central spaces of the level occupied by classrooms and workshops.

This intervention is based on three new devices: a large reflective screen reconstructs the image of the Foundry in all four directions; and behind it, the closed-off rooms are set up as multipurpose halls; a skylight located in the atrium of the workspace regulates the inflow of natural light, provides heat to the renovation system in winter and dispels it in summer; and a solar energy production roof creates a large porch on the terrace of the bar that looks out towards the sea.