Refurbishment of the Pepe Marsilla House
Project drafted in collaboration with José María Pérez Fernández
Location: Bullas, Murcia, España
Year: 2008-2012
Surface: 1.052 m2
Awards:
Premio a la Promoción Inmobiliaria 2015 en la categoría Mejor Actuación de Rehabilitación.
Mención en los VI Premios a la Calidad en la Edificación de la Región de Murcia 2014, por la preservación de los valores culturales e históricos del entorno, manteniendo la imagen, materiales y decoración originales del edificio durante su rehabilitación.
Rehabilitating a building as emblematic for the municipality of Bullas as the Casa D. Pepe Marsilla is a challenge for any designer. The first premise of the project is to respect the identity and character of this historic building: “everything must change so that everything remains the same”.
The great success of this project lies in the fact that even though it has undergone an integral modification (the building has been completely emptied, relocating the original levels and redesigning the façade openings, with a new roof at a greater height, a new staircase and new routes, and even an extension has been added), the building remains the same, maintaining its original language.
In order to achieve this, the correct selection of materials, which are integrated into the original palette, and absolute respect for the rhythms and modulations of the original building have been very important. These materials and rhythms have also been transferred to the design and planning of the public space that completes it, the Plaza de la Villa.
The interior adapts the future administrative use of the building through the maximum liberalisation of the floor plan based on meticulous structural work, which made it possible to eliminate some very thick walls. It is complemented by a new metal structure that forms the roof trusses. Elements that take on a special role in the updating of the interior image. This is enriched thanks to the transparency produced by the support of the roof on a horizontal tear from façade to façade that gives lightness to the whole building. It is enriched by the contrast of a stone wall structure.
In the design of the extension, the same principles have been followed as in the refurbishment of the original building, the search for an anonymous project, whose function is to enhance the value of the House Museum, completing its uses and framing its perspective, respecting its rhythms, measurements and materials.
The refurbishment of the Casa D. Pepe Marsilla for municipal administrative offices is an example of honest architecture, where, without seeking prominence, it has been able to find its place and adapt to the passing of time.
