Designed by DUNAR Arquitectos in collaboration with Felipe Retuerto, the Alcalá de Guadaíra Youth Centre, in Seville (Spain), a former municipal market has been transformed into a multipurpose youth center whilst maintaining its use as civic infrastructure. The project responds directly to the topography of its site, its purpose organised across three interconnected platforms, a landscaped upper plaza becomes an inhabitable green roof, while the intermediate level contains the youth centre and connects directly to another public plaza. Ramps, stairs and lifts weave these spaces together. The interior programme includes spaces for music, theatre, activities and multipurpose events. Movable partitions allow rooms to operate independently or combine into larger spaces, while large glazed openings enable activities to spill outdoors. Together with the surrounding plazas, the building offers almost 3,000 square metres for cultural, educational and social use.
Its significance lies in its radical approach not isolate young people within a dedicated institution; instead, it gives them a visible and active place within the urban fabric. The project effectively returns space to the city, transforming a previously occupied market site into a porous environment for meeting, creativity and participation for not just youth but the inclusive community. Material choices reinforce the connection between architecture and landscape. Textured concrete platforms, green roofs, vertical gardens and micro-perforated metal screens create a building that is simultaneously robust, open and visually permeable.
