Regional Archive and Municipal Facilities in Puig del Roser, Olot.

Olot is an exceptional town where the characteristically volcanic topography and overlapping of spaces and eras bestow a highly distinctive personality on the urban landscape.

The proposed site for the new regional archive and municipal facilities is situated on the side of the Sant Francesc Volcano, whose crater serves as the foundation for the Plaça de Braus. The idea is to use these buildings to redefine the urban fabric of the area and how it connects with the town.

The new headquarters of the regional archive and new municipal facilities must not destroy the geological character of the area in which they are built. In our opinion, these buildings should reflect the characteristics of the volcano to which they belong. A proposed system of squares at different levels would form a perimeter around the Plaça de Braus, not unlike lookout points over the historic city. It will be beneath these squares that the archive and the new facilities will be housed, thus enabling the use of the building’s roof as a public space. The arrangement of the squares makes reference to the lava sheets that are scattered randomly around the crater.