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Architects: rodríguez + pintos arquitectos, rodríguez + pintos arquitectos
- Area: 302 m²
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Manufacturers: Alve iluminación, Cortizo, Geverit, Soler & Palau, VMZINC
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Text description provided by the architects. The Cistercian monastery of St. María de Armenteira is located on the western hillside of Monte Castrove, a spur that separates the Salnés valley from the Ría de Pontevedra. Its origin goes back to the Early Middle Ages, probably the pre-Romanesque period.
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For their economic support, the Cistercian nuns have started manufacturing handcrafted soap, organic lotions and perfumes with an own patent and production, activity that required a new workshop as well as the complementary tasks of receiving, storing and shipping the materials.
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The new building is located on the south part of the monastic ensemble because of the easy access, privacy and advantageous direction and also because the topography of the area allows the whole program to be hold under the existent slope. The recovery of the historic trace of the ancient wing of the novices is being sought. Its design, shown by the archaeological excavations, emerges again through powerful granite walls that define the perimeter of the new construction.
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La estructura industrial ligera y modular del taller adquiere su propia dimensión entre estos muros, buscando así la máxima flexibilidad de uso. De este modo, el jardín superior y los elementos de transición y unión con las antiguas dependencias monacales adquieren una relevancia fundamental.
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Por último, todas las actuaciones planteadas se realizan considerando la posibilidad de su futura y total reversibilidad.
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