Murcian civitas.

An extension to Murcia's city hall makes a dignified contribution to the town's historic core.

Murcia, according to the nineteenth-century writer Augustus Hare, would, 'from the stagnation of its long existence, be the only place Adam would recognize if he returned to earth'. Founded by the Moors in the ninth century, Murcia evolved as an important trading centre on the south east corner of the Iberian peninsula. Four centuries later it became the regional capital, and during the eighteenth century was extensively rebuilt. Enclosed by mountains, the city still maintains an air of languid tranquillity, far removed from the coastal tourist resorts of the Costa Blanca.

Dominating the streets and plazas of the historic core is the baroque bulk of the city's cathedral. Begun in the fourteenth century and completed in the eighteenth, the cathedral's monumental facade presides imperiously over Plaza Cardenal Belluga in the heart of the city. The wedge-shaped plaza is an important public space, bounded on its south side by the eponymous cardinal's palace and to the north by an unremarkable row of houses. On its western edge, the demolition of an eighteenth century house on a site owned by the city left a glaring gap, dissipating the plaza's intimate sense of enclosure. The loss of the original urban fabric also allowed newer buildings to intrude. Aware of the sensitivity and importance of the site, the municipal authorities decided to give the plaza a new civic focus by constructing an extension to the existing city hall. Following an unsuccessful invited competition between three local architects, Rafael Moneo was commissioned to develop a proposal.

Church and state now face each other across the plaza in a tableau that embodies their historic relationship and influence on the city. Just as the imposing front of the cathedral evokes the power and prestige of the church during the eighteenth century, so Moneo's building is a contemporary manifestation of secular democracy and civic authority. Yet despite being clearly of its time, the new intervention respects and responds to the plaza's existing buildings. The confines of the building's urban surroundings generate the logic for both its internal organization and external expression.

Slotted into the dense urban grain, the new city hall is a compact, cubic volume, clad in local lumaquela sandstone. The honey-coloured stone is particularly suited to the rigours of the intense Murcian sun and has a rich geological texture and solidity. The east end of the cube gently skews round into the plaza and terminates in an abstract version of a portico. The strong, orthogonal play of stone columns and horizontal banding does not attempt to compete with the classical order; instead it generates its own irregular rhythm. A double-height balcony for municipal receptions, corresponding in scale to the piano nobile balcony of the adjacent episcopal palace, gives the elevation a civic and architectural focus.

Lateral facades are more discreet, articulated by a handful of openings, suggesting an impenetrable alcazar. Reinterpreting vernacular Iberian forms is a common theme of Moneo's work; for instance the Moderna Museet in Stockholm (AR November 1998) is based on a series of neutral, toplit containers enclosed by a blind wall. The main entrance is placed on Polo Medina Street on the north elevation, establishing a connection with the rest of the city and drawing attention away from the plaza.

The building is organized around a legislative chamber, which also doubles as a lecture hall, with a capacity of around 150, bordered by a strip of cellular offices along its south side. Stacked above the hall are a series of large, open plan offices. The skewed volume facing the plaza houses various administrative functions and the piano nobile reception space. From the elevated balcony and upper terraces, the diverse, urban life of the plaza can be savoured. At mezzanine level, a bridge links the new building with the existing city hall. A sunken forecourt, below plaza level, gives access to a small basement care.

With its neutral forms and sober materials, Moneo's building reflects the openness of local government and responds to the demands of a modern democracy. It gives the municipality a civic presence on the plaza, accommodates various administrative functions, and, through public spaces such as the lecture hall, information centre and care, brings citizens into contact with those who legislate and administer on their behalf.

Architect

Rafael Moneo, Madrid

Project team

Rafael Moneo, Javier Revillo, Michael Bischoff, Valeria Koukoutsi, Belen Hermida, Francisco Gonzalez Peiro, Enrique Carbonel, Fernando Iznaola, Carlos Marin

Structural engineer

Mariano Moneo

Mechanical engineer

JG Asociados

Photographs

All by Roland Halbe/CONTUR, except 2, by Duccio Malagamba