Balaguer’s town hall. Lleida. Catalonia

The exercise is to demolish the current Balaguer’s town hall and propose a new one. Taking advantage of the exercise, we worked with the idea of breaking the topographic discontinuity between the «Mercadal» Square and the city wall. First, we suggest that the city disintegrates into two separate public buildings: City Hall and the local police, all proposing duality and project toughness. They are arranged separated by a central stairs that lead to a square to level while continuing down the path of the wall. It means that the building ensures accessibility through lifts public domain.

The architectural quality of the City Hall lies in a plummeted central courtyard that gives views towards the wall of Balaguer. These views are born in the lobby of City Hall and accentuate the most important heritage of the municipality, while providing visual perspectives across departments. In the same way the skin of the building has the will to generate a institutional image and new visuals to the Mercadal square.