Students of the Master in Ephemeral Architecture design a new sustainable community space at Can Guineu

CAN GUINEU is an ephemeral architecture project to enable sustainable community building. Through this temporary intervention, a relevant local heritage site is made accessible to citizens for the first time since its public acquisition. Supporting artistic events, cultural performances and social gatherings, CAN GUINEU becomes a local hub to bring communities together, fostering social cohesion and prompting a sense of belonging and of shared ownership of the place.

CAN GUINEU is promoted by Sant Sadurní d’Anoia City Hall and designed and built by a multidisciplinary team of faculty and students from Elisava’s Master in Ephemeral Architecture and Temporary Spaces (MEATS), supported by local associations and NGOs working on solidarity and cooperation projects.

EL PATI DE CAN GUINEU, designed and built in 2021, transforms an abandoned space through the construction of a temporary stage that activates the courtyard as a meeting place and a setting for civic activities. Large sails form a reconfigurable backdrop and serve as an iconic element to appeal to the public. The restoration of the garden offers a space for both programmed events and spontaneous uses on the part of citizens.

El CLAUSTRE DE CAN GUINEU, designed and built in 2022, focuses on the center of the heritage building, repurposing its architecture through the installation of wooden flooring and a long metal curtain. The new floor creates folds to encourage different ways of occupying the space and finding comfort, while the blue curtain reinforces the verticality of the cloister and generates a visual connection with the sky. Together, these simple gestures establish rich and complex relationships with the people who use Can Guineu as a place for social connection and leisure.

Together, both interventions make it possible to open this heritage building to the public for the first time. Providing access to Can Guineu is the first step in building a collective vision of what the future should be for this exceptional space in the centre of the town.

CAN GUINEU is a design proposal that strategically uses temporality to simultaneously address culture, heritage, and community building, achieving a robust social impact with limited resources.

Master in Ephemeral Architecture and Temporary SpacesMEATS Elisava, UVic-UCC, 2022
Developer: Ajuntament de Sant Sadurní d’Anoia
Authors:
Tutors: Roger Paez (coord.), Jordi Queralt, Toni Montes
Students: Nour Awarki, Elodie Bodart, Mar Gené, Sena Kocaoglu, Yana Latinovich, Diana Mehrez, Sanjana Paramhans, Mana Pinto, Qhosha Vad, Cristina Valarezo, Tiffany Whittaker, Noa Yarkoni, Amber Zhang
Others:
Colaborators: David Martí
Constructors: Brava Performing Arts + MEATS Elisava