Municipal Sports Centre of Bergara
Kalea Ibarra, 5A, 20570 Bergara, Spain
| Former Use: | Scrap yard of Steelworks UCEM |  |
| New Use: | Sports centre | |
| Category: | Sports | |
| Website: | http://www.bergara.eus/es/node/534 | |
| Reuse Architect: | Ramón Garitano | |
| Construction year(s): | 1900 - | |
| Reuse year(s): | 1987 - |
Description:
"The transformed space was an area of storage and handling of metal scrap, destined for the steel factory that was part of (UCEM). It included a large hall and a concrete structure that supported 3 cranes. The space was transferred to the Town Hall of Bergara as a result of a city-planning operation.
The project was drafted in 1981 and was completed in 1987. It includes the conversion of the main hall into a sports centre and the conversion of the outer space delimited by the bridge-crane structure into a multipurpose sports space; an old railway track that crossed the place became a bike lane; the rest of the area became a public park. The operation not only provided sports facilities to the neighbourhood, but radically improved the environmental quality of the nearby residential areas, which were surrounded by industrial facilities.
When the project was drafted, in 1981, this rehabilitation / reuse case was a pioneer project in the Basque Country, and one of the pioneers in Spain.
In the course of time, the space has undergone some transformations, the most important of which is the loss of the amphitheater that ended the space of the outer tracks. However, 3 decades later the complex remains functional."(Ramón Garitano)(4)
Relevant Literature:
- Asociacion Vasca de Patrimonio Industrial y obra publica, 2001, Viejas fábricas Nuevos usos, Bilbao, pp.74-75
- http://www.bergarakoartxiboa.eus/07
- https://www.rgaritanoarquitectura.com/premio-bergara
- Interview Ramón Garitano, 3/9/2018