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Date Published: 14/06/2022

ARCHIVED - Aguilas presents the winning project for the rehabilitation of the historic Casa Ruano building

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

The winning project to make the Casa Ruano energy efficient has been announced, and now the town is applying for a 2.3-million-euro grant to make this dream a reality

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Aguilas presents the winning project for the rehabilitation of the historic Casa Ruano building

The project for the rehabilitation of the Casa Ruano in Águilas has been presented by the Town Council of Águilas to the call for applications for grants from the Programme to Promote the Rehabilitation of Public Buildings (PIREP).

The Town Council purchased the Casa Ruano building in March, and has now developed a project to restore the building, for which it has applied for a grant from the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda at a cost of 2,338,567 euros, of which 501,072 will come from the municipal contribution and the rest, 1,837,495 euros, is what the grant is being requested for.

PIREP is a programme included in the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan financed by Next Generation EU funds.

“The proposed rehabilitation of the Casa Ruano is an example of citizen participation,” according to town mayor, Mari Carmen Moreno.

The process for the selection of the best architectural proposal for the energy efficient refurbishment of this historic building was based on an online citizen survey in which more than 900 people from Águilas gave their opinion on what would be the most appropriate uses of the building.

A co-creation workshop was also held with experts to provide solutions to the challenges posed and, finally, a competition of ideas was launched to select the most appropriate architectural project to which six proposals were submitted. Following this participatory process, an independent jury decided that the project entitled ‘Bioclimatic Culture’ would be the first prize-winner, based on proposals submitted anonymously. This is the winning project which is now being presented to the Public Building Rehabilitation Programme (PIREP) Call for Proposals.

This particular project was proposed by the Santa-Cruz architectural studio, and has achieved the objective pursued by this competition for ideas, which was none other than to obtain an architectural proposal for the integral rehabilitation of the Casa Ruano in Águilas.

‘Bioclimatic culture’ is a project that improves both the energy aspects of the building, as well as those related to its accessibility, habitability, sustainability and conservation, all in compliance with the prescriptions set by the New European Bauhaus, an initiative that connects the New European Green Deal with our daily lives and our living spaces, calling on citizens to imagine and build together a sustainable and inclusive future.

‘Bioclimatic culture’, the winning project

It should be noted that both the winning proposal and the rest of the five entries will form part of an exhibition open to the public in which all citizens will be able to see the different projects submitted to the Casa Ruano Ideas Competition.

A building of great historical-architectural value

Águilas Town Hall announced the acquisition of the Casa Ruano last March. The bukilding is located in in the Plaza de España and the news was very positively received by residents of the town who are aware of the important historical-architectural value of this building of 1,265 square metres, built in 1883 by the architect Justo Millán, commissioned by the Ruano y Blázquez family.

Due to its style and chronology, the Ruano de Águilas building is part of a moderate eclecticism and can be related to the first forms of geometric modernism. According to municipal sources, it is one of the few noble buildings preserved in the municipality with construction characteristics, in terms of materials, typical of palaces of the period, including ashlar masonry with lead plates and fine woods.

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Images: Ayuntamiento de Águilas