The project addresses two areas along the River Guadalquivir, the main site, a park on an empty peninsula bordering the city of Córdoba, and a smaller site, Jándula, at a dam two hours north-east. The vastness of these places contrasting with the density of the city, prompted a reflection on ambiguity and structure.

The site of the park seemed to beg for a building with explicit functions that would give its immensity definition, the program, however; asked for ambiguity. A conference center and a 'market hall’ do not necessarily have a prescribed organization in contemporary society. Similarly, the contrast between the clear structure of the dam, the walled in village and the ravished expanse of nature engulfing Jándula, inspired an analogous approach.

Thus, to counter feelings of alienation inspired by the immensities of the landscape but to retain an openness in the buildings’ functionality, an approach was designed where a defining narrative was established, but one centered on the experience itself, the succession of interiors, the sequencing and the materiality. This left the functional organization open, while avoiding pure ambiguity.

This sought after experience was then addressed from the unfolding of space in Córdoba; a maze of walls, openings, heavy materials, an intimate city, laid out in a sequence of contracting and expanding spaces that pulls one forward, but also inspires a sense of belonging through its intimate scale.

Research led to ultimately establishing the guiding metaphor as ‘The Refuge', or 'Pavilions in the Park’; smaller spaces that connect to form larger spaces, creating both intimacy while embracing the vastness of the landscape. To accomplish this, the design process was centered around developing a number of key notions: firstly, sequencing, contraction vs expansion, synchronous vs sequential space, secondly, playfulness vs order, a defined but open organization, a grid, a system, but one that does not take itself too seriously, and finally a sense of haptic materiality, a sensory experience that guides the visitor’s encounter.