A market is a square
The traditional food markets are those spaces where the people of the neighborhood and the town go to acquire and exchange raw materials of local production functioned as squares. In this proposal for the Villanueva de la Serena food market, the recovery of that public and social identity of the markets for the residents of the city, a new covered square and meeting space, where the traditional coexists with the contemporary, is managed.
A comprehensive reform of the building is proposed, making this square the lung of the entire building. The new square is covered with a skylight giving rise to a more versatile and protected public space, which will allow meetings when environmental conditions are adverse.
The interior and the surrounding streets dialogue through a large entrance that connects two squares, the ‘Ermita de San Francisco’ and the market. A continuity and street-building permeability is guaranteed, which is enhanced by the opening of stalls with direct service to the street, bringing more life to the building’s facades.
The ‘daily’ market offer is concentrated on the ground floor, maintaining the currently existing stalls and the traditional market form at this level. At the first level, the traditional market becomes a more contemporary space, a space for tasting and the newest gastronomic experience.
A new benchmark space appears on the roof in Villanueva de la Serena, as it houses a terrace with food services, surrounded by vegetation and isolated from the city.
