Hotel Akelarre is the result of a more than forty years of identity and development. Is the blend between tradition and time with the obsession for investigation and innovation. It’s accurately the symbiosis in the integration of context and innovation that defines the spirit of Hotel Akelarre.
In this ambiance, Mecanismo conceived a precise project of design and construction of the hotel. The accurate selection of materials, furniture and the detailed execution distinguishes Hotel Akelarre; the materials as the link between concept, form and function. The use of natural resources and whilst materials; stone, wood and linen respect the inner nature and properties in the process, as well as, contemplating the advances of investigation and new techniques for their manipulation and induction, that characterizes the project and studio itself.
At the beginning of the year, Pedro Subijana told us to design a cocktail bar, from which they could prepare and serve unique drinks and cocktails on the terrace of the Akelarre’s Hotel, which we had the opportunity to design in 2017.
From the beginning our idea was to design a moving structure, that could be placed on the hotel’s terrace (once totally finished) avoiding any disturbance from works that could disrupt the hotels functionality. A prefabricated element, resistant to the climatic conditions of the area, functional and attractive, always taking into account how the element would be integrated into the space.
The Juan Sebastian Bar, in number 7 of easo street, is one of the most emblematic bars of the city. It was designed by Enrique Sarabia in 1977 and still retained, although a bit distorted and only inside, that atmosphere from the seventies mixed with a strange Mediterranean aroma.
We decided that the Juan Sebastian Bar should not be redesigned, but recovered. The element that most suffered the passing of time was the façade, deplorably modified.
The work entails the rehabilitation and refurbishment of an existing construction, recently aimed at teaching functions, and its enlargement to host a new residential site as student dormitory.
Electricity: Elektra: Jose Martin Ezkerra, Jose Calvo, Daniel, Elias Arruebarrena
Foundations, aid and support: Campezo: Elena Martin, Teoforo Macias, Tomas Reyes, Javier Gago, Juan Manuel Gago, Marcio Gomes, Vicente Estevez, Alex Fernandez, Jose Mari Villar
Support ironworkers: Talleres Martutene: Imanol Jareño, Francisco Javier Delgado, Iñaki Diez, Moises Bermejo
Safety and health coordinator: BPG coordinadores: David Pedrosa y Jorge Goldaracena
General Support: Estudio Lekuona: Jabier Lekuona, Julen Lekuona, Maite Lekuona y María Jauregui
A three floor cubical volume is located next to a late XIX century villa. The new building is linked to the villa by means of a galvanized steel and glass-made set of stairs that allows the cast of indirect natural light not only on the villa, but also on the new atelier, marking the entrance point of both of them. The atelier is defined by a galvanized steel-made framework and by perforated slabs to allow the entrance of natural light. On the other hand, the villa´s terrace is meant to be a view-point on the garden, removing some parts of the railing by selecting the ground materials and filtering the sunlight with sunshaders, softening the transition between the inside and outside parts of the house.
The good orientation and the view across the city of San Sebastian make Marichulegui villa a privileged place to live.
The house places, almost instinctively, the main spaces oriented diagonally looking for the sights to the Concha bay which are encased between two neighbour villages. To place the maximum possible number of spaces whit this condition, leads to group, apparently in a disordered way, tightening in the narrow front of the plot, as if they were the heads of a children group that who want to look through a little window at the same time. So, the interior space keeping its fluid and unitary condition, creates various areas where the nearest references disappeared in favour of the far sight.
San Sebastian is a lively city. It is the city of fusions. Its landscape is at the same time stony and marine, and its light is the white light of the haze and the bright light of Southern Europe. The Comb of the Winds by Chillida and the beautiful classical composure of the city express equally ambivalence.
Inhabiting the volume. Converting the plane into livable volume. Embracing the space. These have been the obsessive aims of the project. My chances of purchasing my own dwelling in the most expensive city of Spain came down to 40 square meters and my knowledge of architecture.
The Carlos Santamaría Centre, located in San Sebastian, is an advanced data centre and library, linked to the Ibaeta University Campus.
The building is conceived as a huge container, shaped from a spontaneous outline following the natural curve of the plot. The line is the wall containing the two blocks arranged in a north-south direction, and its vertex is at the place we consider the most important: the building’s main access, which opens up like a large mouth, pointing the vertex towards the sky.
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